Leopold Stokowski (redirected from Leopold Stokowski And The Philadelphia Orchestra)

Stokowski, Leopold 

Born Apr. 18, 1882, in London; died Sept. 13, 1977, in Nether Wallop, England. American conductor.

Stokowski graduated from the Royal College of Music in London and took advanced training in Paris and Berlin. He made his conducting debut in London in 1908. From 1912 to 1936 he conducted and toured with the Philadelphia Orchestra, to which he brought world renown. Stokowski also conducted other major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. He founded the American Symphony Orchestra in New York in 1962.

Stokowski was one of the prominent representatives of American music in the world. He attracted large audiences through his inventiveness, and introduced the public to the newest complex works of American composers. He rearranged the seating of orchestra members on stage and used lighting effects in the concert hall. Stokowski became popular as a result of his radio broadcasts, films, and early phonograph recordings. In the 1940’s, some of his recordings were the standard against which the quality of recordings was measured. He played an important role in popularizing music, conducting a series of concerts for children and young people and establishing the All-American Youth Orchestra and other orchestras, including those whose members were amateur musicians; some amateur orchestras later became professional.

Stokowski wrote the book Music for All of Us (1943) and composed musical works. He toured the USSR in 1958.

L. M. GINZBURG