Leopold Stokowski's Symphony Orchestra - Bizet: Symphony in C, L'arlésienne Suites - Debussy: Children's Corner Suite (2008/2019)

Fans of Leopold Stokowski's flamboyant style of conducting may find this historic reissue on Cala worth investigating, but others should be cautious of its somewhat exaggerated performances and veiled sound quality. Recorded in 1952, the renditions by Stokowski and his self-named Symphony Orchestra of Georges Bizet's Symphony in C major and the two suites from the incidental music for L'Arlésienne are surprisingly well-preserved and remarkably clear for their time; but most listeners who are accustomed to fully digital audio or high quality analog will find the reproduction is slightly muted and flat, and periodically muffled and indistinct in these monaural recordings. Yet in spite of the less than perfect but respectable sound quality, Stokowski's quirky use of rubato, changes in the orchestration, and altered dynamics will be enough to warn off anyone who prefers hearing these pieces with stricter adherence to the scores and fewer expressive liberties. The performance of Claude Debussy's Children's Corner Suite, in the orchestral arrangement by André Caplet dates from 1949, and is almost as clean as the Bizet recordings, but it too has its share of muddiness; Stokowski's feeling for the music is on the relaxed and slightly sloppy side, with a fluid approach to rhythm and phrasing that is decidedly his own.