Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Symphony #4 in F Minor
George Butterworth (1885-1916)
A Shropshire Lad
George Antheil (1900-1959)
Symphony #4 "1942"
From broadcasts on 14 March 1943 (Vaughan Williams) and 13 February 1944.

CALA 528

The "theme" behind this disc is that Stokowski conducted each piece
only once in his career (which was, for all practical purposes, his whole
life).  Frankly I am glad to have it regardless of the "theme".  The main
epistemological reason for the disc is to listen to and study how two
different works attempt to capture a similar essence and how one works and
the other doesn't.  The Vaughan Williams Symphony was thought to be a "war
symphony" and Antheil made it explicit that his was.

The Vaughan Williams is worth the price of the whole disc.  For reference,
I listened to the famed Mitropoulos recording with the NYPO in 1956.  From
the outset, Stokowski is infinitely more intense, the attacks are sharper.
The sound is a tad thinner, but given the source it is good and there is
more detail than in the Mitropoulos.  The NBCSO was Toscanini's child and
certainly superior to the New York Phil then or even later.  It was a
virtuoso of orchestras and Stokowski, even more than Toscanini, used that
to the fullest.  It is not just a matter of intensity, however, the whole
thing is more emotional.  Listen to the strings at around 8:00 into the
first movement as they yearn for something lost.  (Mitropoulos, for what
it is worth, is finished with the movement by this time.  Stokowski takes
almost a minute and a half longer.  Did someone omit a repeat? Stokowski
sounds faster.) In short, Stokowski's is the finest performance I know of
this piece of music* and any serious collector of classical recordings
ought to hear it.

Try to imagine what it must be like to look at black dots and lines on
white paper and be able to "hear" it.  This is what Stokowski had to do
when reading a new score.  It is possible that he had heard the Vaughan
Williams before studying the score.  Whether that is true or not, Stokowski
certainly had not "heard" the Antheil before and so had to "hear" it in
his mind before anyone else did.  Then he had to work through rehearsals
leading up to a realization.  All along the way he had to be 'listening'
to the black dots and lines, but listening as they were actualized.  Every
time I think about this whole process I think about infinity, too.

Now, I will be point-blank honest.  I don't care for Antheil's Symphony.
I have tried to like it.  When I read that he was the "bad boy of music"
I had hopes.  I always like the black sheep.  What I hear, however, is
something that might euphemistically be called eclectic.  You hear
Shostakovich in the main, but also Prokofiev, Sibelius and movie music.
The seams are about as noticeable as those on Frankenstein's face.  The
music does not flow form one idea to another:  it jumps.  I don't want to
go on.  I did try to like it and even listened to recent recordings on
Naxos and cpo (the latter which received several good reviews) to see if
it was just Stokowski.  Nope, in fact Stokowski makes more of a symphonic
argument for the music than do those recordings.  Now, I hope I don't turn
you off from the record because of my caustic remarks about Antheil's work.
On the contrary, you ought to listen to both pieces of music so that you
can study the symphony as ideas flow from one to another in Vaughan
Williams but jump about in some quark like state in Antheil.

The Butterworth is a nice lagniappe, but the main course is also the main
reason for stopping by.  I must make sure I make it clear, my objections to
the Antheil need to be considered in light of other facts.  First, you may
have a completely different reaction to his music.  Though they were likely
somewhat different, the audiences reacted more enthusiastically to the
Antheil than the Vaughan Williams.  Second, it is the best performance I
have heard of the piece.  Finally, as a pedagogical device, the disc can't
be beat.  Learning is always better than the alternative.  Also, if you
like the Vaughan Williams you simply must listen to this.

Post Script: This Stokowski disc also was a catalyst towards learning
more about Antheil.  I got copies of the Fourth Symphony on Naxos
(8.559033) with Theodore Kuchar conducting the National Symphony Orchestra
of Ukraine, and on cpo (8492) where the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfort
is led by Hugh Wolff.  Those discs are coupled with other symphonies and
works by the composer.  I learned more about Antheil's life, too.  So, my
experience was very educational.  Recommended.

*  I did listen to two other recordings, Previn on RCA and Davis on
Teldec.  I didn't discuss them because their vintage, etc. are so
different as to make comparison mute.

Peace,
bob stumpf
President: Leopold Stokowski Society of America