The Philadelphia Orchestra is music royalty. For over a century it’s performed and recorded with the elite of the classical music world including Sergei Rachmaninoff, Artur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Joseph Szigeti. It’s always been a leader in presenting new works to American audiences and a short list includes Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand,” Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto.
Of course it was immortalized in popular culture as the orchestra that recorded the soundtrack to Walt Disney’s Fantasia. It was a historic moment when Leopold Stokowski, the orchestra’s flamboyant music director, shook hands with Mickey Mouse on screen and provided, for many, their introduction to classical music.
Stokowski led the orchestra for nearly 30 years (1912 – 1941) and it was under his leadership that the fabled “Philadelphia Sound” was born. “Stoki” favored a lush string sound and staggered breathing in the winds that created a seamless line and a honeyed tone that has rarely been equaled. The next music director, Eugene Ormandy, perfected the sound and the results live forever in hundreds of recordings he made during the near half century (1936 – 1980) he was at the orchestra’s helm.
After Ormandy retired, the directorship was passed on to Riccardo Muti (1980 – 1992), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993 – 2003) and Christoph Eschenbach (2003 – 2008). Each has left a respected recorded legacy in a wide range of repertoire. The next chapter will be written when the orchestra’s new music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, steps onto the podium and continues the great Philadelphia tradition.
Our featured album showcases Ormandy and the orchestra’s splendid interpretations of music by three Scandinavian masters. Ormandy was one of the century’s great Sibelius conductors and delivers one of the most electrifying performances of the composer’s Finlandia on record.
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by Craig Zeichner
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