Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps/Bach-Stokowski: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565/Bach-Stokowski: Fugue in G minor BWV 578/Bach-Stokowski: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582/Stravinsky-Stokowski: Pastorale
Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nezet-Seguin
DG 479 1074 (63:08)
In the spring of 2012 the Philadelphia Orchestra presented a “Stokowski Celebration” in the orchestra’s old home, the Academy of Music. The programs consisted of music associated with Stokowski, the longtime music director of the orchestra, and there was a well-curated display of Stokowski memorabilia in the lobby and on the orchestra’s website. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducted all the concerts and in one remarkable moment Stokowski “passed” the baton to Yannick by means of lifelike holograms on either side of the proscenium. A year later Yannick made his first recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra and it included several of the works played at the Stokowski Celebration.
I attended several of the concerts in the Stokowski Celebration and they were excellent. Not least of all because of the obvious rapport between the orchestra and its newly appointed conductor. That rapport is clearly evident in their first recording together. The performance of Le sacre is astonishing for the clarity of detail. Not since Pierre Boulez have I heard so much of the music. But that doesn’t mean that this is a dry, clinical performance. It is exciting too. Unfortunately, the recording was made in the orchestra’s current home, Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center. In my experience this hall is digital in the worst sense, and gives nearly all the music performed there a hard edge. The double basses and cellos lack warmth, and the overall sound lacks presence.
The deficiencies of Verizon Hall are also detrimental to the Stokowski transcriptions. Stokowski was famous for the beauty of the string sound he could get from an orchestra, but I doubt that even Stokowski himself could do much with Verizon Hall. Still, the performances are very good and serve to remind us that these transcriptions are as impressive as ever, even after all these years. Purists may turn up their noses at the idea of using a large symphony orchestra to play Bach but Bach’s genius for counterpoint emerges intact, and in all its glory.
Clearly, Yannick is making great music with his American orchestra. But many more people would be able to appreciate it if the city fathers expedited some major acoustical renovations in Verizon Hall.
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