{"product_id":"stokowski-beethoven-symphony-no-9-choral-1941-pasc541","title":"STOKOWSKI Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 'Choral' (1941) - PASC541","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 9 'Choral'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast recording, 1941\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 66:04\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAnne Brown. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003esoprano  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eWinifred Heidt. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econtralto  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eWilliam Horne. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003etenor  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eLawrence Whisonant. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003ebass\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eThe Westminster Choir\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eLeopold Stokowski\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC541.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eIt was a rousing performance ... Mr. Stokowski led a dramatic performance that had special drive and crispness in the scherzo and that built up into a series of big climaxes in the last movement\u003c\/i\u003e.\" - New York Times, 1941\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExactly one month prior to the entry of the United States into World War II, on Armistice Day 1941, Leopold Stokowski conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a rare performance for him of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. As the NY Times reviewer pointed out, \"he chose a solemn day in a momentous time to set forth once more Beethoven’s affirmation of the brotherhood of man.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's a performance that has never been heard in full since. A scheduling anomaly meant that whilst Stokowski performed the entire work before a packed house, radio listeners were treated only to the final choral movement. The first three movements were never broadcast, and as far as we can tell, have not been issued before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey were however captured in a line recording, from which the present release is largely drawn, and preserved in stunning sound quality for the day. Indeed the finale, which was drawn from a recording of the broadcast (complete with closing commentary), whilst also of fine sound quality, struggles to quite match that heard in the opening three movements.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt should at this point be noted that a very short section at the end of the third movement was missing from the original source recording. We assume that the time recording was faded out at this point in order for the commentator to be heard on NBC radio. For this I have patched in a later recording by Stokowski, digitally aged to match the sound of the 1941 recording and spliced in so seamlessly that two Stokowski experts who heard it prior to release were unable to detect the change. It helped enormously that Stokowski's later performance matched the 1941 tempo almost exactly during that third movement. I have also reconstructed a shorter pause between third and fourth movements than was heard by the audience on the night - an extra delay was caused by the need to go \"on air\" prior to commencing the finale, as the Times' reviewer noted the following day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so we present an entirely new Stokowski performance of the Choral Symphony. As you'll hear from the sample  movement (the second) on this page, it really is a stunning sounding performance - and one you won't wish to be without.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/b\u003eSymphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, 'Choral'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e1. 1st mvt. - Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso  (13:51)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e2. 2nd mvt. - Scherzo. Molto vivace - Presto  (10:09)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e3. 3rd mvt. - Adagio molto e cantabile  (15:08)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e4. 4th mvt. - Presto - Allegro assai  (24:37)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e5. RADIO Closing announcements  (2:19)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnne Brown. \u003c\/b\u003esoprano  \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinifred Heidt. \u003c\/b\u003econtralto  \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Horne. \u003c\/b\u003etenor  \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLawrence Whisonant. \u003c\/b\u003ebass\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Westminster Choir\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eLeopold Stokowski\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCosmopolitan Opera House, New York City\u003cbr\u003eMovements 1-3 not broadcast\u003cbr\u003eLive broadcast recording, 11 November 1941\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of \u003cb\u003eLeopold Stokowski\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal duration:  66:04\u003cb\u003e  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC541.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC541.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fSleevenotes578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\nLeopold Stokowski’s recording career spanned an astonishing sixty years,\nfrom 1917 to 1977. Yet in all that time he recorded Beethoven’s Ninth\nSymphony only twice: in 1934 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and in 1967\n(in stereo) with the London Symphony Orchestra. It was a piece he\nprogrammed comparatively rarely in concerts, particularly when compared to\nBeethoven’s Fifth or Seventh Symphonies. Stokowski had been appointed as\nprincipal conductor of the NBCSO for the 1941-2 season and this broadcast was\nonly his second appearance as conductor. In order to allow for acoustical changes to be made, at Stokowski’s\ninstigation, to the usual broadcast studio (8H) the orchestra had decamped to the\nCosmopolitan Opera House in New York City. For this new season the\nbroadcasts were moved from Saturdays to Tuesdays, and the length of the\nbroadcast was shortened to just an hour. To complicate matters further,\nthis particular broadcast was only allotted thirty minutes, from 9.30 to\n10pm, as from 10pm several networks joined up to broadcast the ‘Red Cross\nRoll Call’. Beethoven’s Ninth would not have fit into the broadcast hour\nanyway, so the network decided to broadcast just the last movement, with\nthe first three movements being heard only in the house by the (paying)\naudience. Fortunately for us, the NBC engineers recorded the non-broadcast\nmovements (most likely for later relay to Latin America).\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe New York Times was impressed by a ‘dramatic performance that had\nspecial drive and crispness’. Stokowski decided to perform the choral\nsection in English and gathered four young American soloists, all under the\nage of 30. In an acknowledgement of Beethoven’s theme of universal\nbrotherhood, two of the soloists were African American. Despite Marion\nAnderson and Paul Robeson becoming very well known, opportunities for black\nsingers remained very limited in the USA and the racial segregation of\nschools, housing, and public transport was commonplace.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAnne Wiggins Brown was recognised as a prodigiously talented soprano from\nan early age. She studied at the Julliard School in New York, and while\nstill a student she heard that George Gershwin was writing an opera about\nblack life in the South and she requested an audition. Gershwin was so\nimpressed that he immediately cast her as Bess in Porgy and Bess. She sang\nin the world premiere and the subsequent US tour. Despite her talent, and\nrelative fame, Brown remained disappointed at the continued racism of US\nsociety, at one point refusing to sing Bess in Washington DC until the\ntheatre was desegregated. She eventually left the US to live in Norway.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nContralto Winifred Heidt was at the start of her fairly short career at the\ntime of this broadcast. Although she had been a runner-up at the Met\nauditions in 1939 her stage appearances with the company were limited to\njust two \u003cem\u003eWalküres\u003c\/em\u003e in 1940. After the war she appeared as Carmen\nwith New York City Opera and was a regular concert performer with husband\nEugene Conley. In 1954 she appeared on Broadway in \u003cem\u003eCarousel\u003c\/em\u003e.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nTenor William Horne was only 28 at the time of this broadcast, and (due to\na short stint in the army during the war) would not make his stage debut\nuntil 1944 with the New York City Opera. In 1946 he sang the title role in\nthe US premiere of \u003cem\u003ePeter Grimes\u003c\/em\u003e conducted by Leonard Bernstein.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nLawrence Whisonant (also later known as Lawrence Winters) was a still a\ncollege student at the time of this broadcast. Like Horne he served in the\nUS army in the war, and he joined both Horne and Heidt at the New York City\nOpera in 1946 where he sang a number of leading baritone roles. He became\nthe most prominent African American baritone of his generation, performing\nat the Royal Opera Stockholm, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Hamburg State Opera,\nand the Vienna State Opera. His US career was certainly curtailed by his\nrace he never appeared at the Met for instance, though he did sing with the\nSan Francisco Opera, and in concerts with the New York Philharmonic.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fHistoric NY Times Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eSTOKOWSKI LEADS BEETHOVEN’S NINTH\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWestminster Choir Sings the Choral Passages in English With NBC Orchestra\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFOUR SOLOISTS ARE HEARD\u003cbr\u003eLawrence Whisonant, William Horne, Winifred Heidt and Anne Brown Appear\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was probably no coincidence that Leopold Stokowski scheduled Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Armistice Day. In presenting the tremendous work at his second concert with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at the Cosmopolitan Opera House last night, he chose a solemn day in a momentous time to set forth once more Beethoven’s affirmation of the brotherhood of man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr. Stokowski made an effort to put the ideal into practice by inviting two Negro singers — Anne Brown, soprano, and Lawrence Whisonant, bass — to join the quartet of soloists. The others were Winifred Heidt, contralto, and William Horne, tenor. The Westminster Choir, which is directed by John Finley Williamson, sang the choral pages. The text was sung in English in the interest of comprehensibility.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was a rousing performance — what one could hear of it in proper balance. What goes over the air may have the perfection of ensemble tone that a Stokowski orchestra usually commands. These concerts are designed for broadcasting primarily, and if reception in the home does justice to the orchestra more than half the battle is won. The audience in the hall, however, has cause for complaint, for it pays an admission fee, and the bald fact is that the acoustics in this theatre were no better last night than Studio 8-H in Radio City, if not worse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaking allowances for distortions and coarseness of tone quality, one may say that Mr. Stokowski led a dramatic performance that had special drive and crispness in the scherzo and that built up into a series of big climaxes in the last movement. Because he was going on the air with the beginning of the choral movement, Mr. Stokowski had to pause for a minute or two at the end of the third, which is unfortunate, for Beethoven's logic is better served if the final movement follows immediately.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe members of the choir sat through the performance downstage at the sides, which must have been rather taxing on their nerves during the first three movements when their only task was to sit still. When they sang, they dominated the orchestra, because they were in front. They sang with gusto and fine vocal quality. The soloists managed the difficult music with reasonable smoothness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDuring the first three movements, especially the third, the audience was subjected to a prime nuisance that Mr. Stokowski would surely not have tolerated, had he known about it, nor would the NBC management at one of its Radio City studios. Latecomers were ushered in and allowed to clatter and climb to their seats. The great slow movement was not benefited by this treatment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eH. T.\u003cbr\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e12 November 1941\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab5_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932339491155,"sku":"lag1789302416839","price":12.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932339523923,"sku":"xmp1789302416840","price":10.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932339556691,"sku":"qwh1789302416841","price":8.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/stokowski-beethoven-symphony-no-9-choral-1941---pasc541_1.jpg?v=1789302423","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/stokowski-beethoven-symphony-no-9-choral-1941-pasc541","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}