Stravinsky: L'histoire du soldat / Stokowski

On this CD:

1. L'histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale), for 3 actors, dancer & 7 instruments
Composed by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by Instrumental Ensemble, Martial Singher, Jean Pierre Aumont
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Tracks:

The Soldier'sTale: Part I: The Soldier's March
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Music To Scene One (Air By A Stream)
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Reprise Of The Soldier's March
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Music To Scene Two (Pastorale)
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Postlude To Pastorale
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Reprise Of 'Airs By A Stream'
The Soldier'sTale: Part I: Music To Scene Three
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Soldier's March
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Continuation Of Marching Tunes
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Royal March
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: The Little Concert - Three Dances
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Tango
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Waltz
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Ragtime
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: The Devil's Dance
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: The Little Chorale
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: The Devil's Song
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: The Great Chorale
The Soldier'sTale: Part II: Triumphal March Of The Devil

Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

For Stokowski fans only
A Stokowski classic, ranking with the best
A brilliant performance, a great recording

Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002XL1ZS
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

For Stokowski fans only.......2006-12-19

First of all, I like Stokowski, which is why I bought this hybrid SACD. The performance is fine and the sound is great. Why only 3 stars? I am being very generous in giving it 3 stars and I do so only because the great Stokowski was involved.

I'm sorry, but the music is very mediocre. I think this is the worst Stravinsky score I've ever heard. Stoki may be giving it his all, but a well conducted lousy score is still a lousy score. I wasn't fond of the narrators either. It really wouldn't be possible for the narration to be any hammier than it is on this recording. This just didn't work for me at all. I can recommend it only to Stokowski completists or people who are already familiar with this Stravinsky work and like it. If not for Stokowski's involvement and the excellence of the recording, I'd give it 1 star purely on artistic merit.

A Stokowski classic, ranking with the best.......2005-12-05

When I bought this performance on LP in 1967, I remember that it came as two discs, one narrated in French, the other in English. Here we have the English only, whereas the original CD issue had the French only. Jean-Pierre Aumont is a matinee-idol Solider, the famous baritone Martial Singher a militant Devil, and Darius Milhaud's wife, Madeleine, a theatrical narrator holding everything together. (It's welcome to hear a female voice since the only other woman's part, the Princess, is silent.) Stokowski conducts with surprising lack of mannerisms, often a bit slowly and with touches of melancholy. The musicians are a collection of top New York free lancers. All in all, this is one of the classic recordings of L'histoire, and since the composer recorded only the suite, I'm grateful to have this exceptional account.

A brilliant performance, a great recording.......2004-12-21

I have loved this piece ever since I was very young (my Dad gave me the great recording by Tashi - Serkin, Stoltzman, Kavafian et al - a record you can no longer get, un-fortunately). But Stokowski presents the music in its original orchestration, at EXACTLY the correct tempi. The narration and dialogue are rendered in a manner we might - were it not an ananchronism - call Brechtian. The overall result is a tense, gripping reading. And the Stereo recording is magnificently produced - the new remastering for SACD makes it sound like it
was recorded last week, instead of nearly forty years ago. Let us hope that Koch will continue to undertake reissues of this caliber. If you are interested in Stravinsky, Stokowski, or this piece, you shoul not miss this disc. One of 2004's best!

Average customer rating:

L'Histoire Du Soldat

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000007TI4
Release Date: 1998-06-23

Tracks:

L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - The Soldier's March
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Music To Scene One (Airs By A Stream)
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Reprise Of The Soldier's March
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Music To Scene Two (Pastorale)
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Postlude To Pastorale
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Reprise Of 'Airs By A Stream'
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part I - Music To Scene Three
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Soldier's March
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Continutation Of Marching Tunes
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Royal March
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - The Little Concert -Three Dances
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Tango
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Waltz
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Ragtime
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - The Devil's Dance
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - The Little Chorale
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - The Devil's Song
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - The Great Chorale
L'Histoire Du Soldate 'The Soldier's Tale': Part II - Triumphal March Of The Devil

Amazon.com essential recording

For all his flamboyance and showmanship, Leopold Stokowski was a serious visionary in many respects, not least for his advocacy of new music and new recording technologies. This disc is a case in point. Stokowski's 1967 performance of Stravinsky's evergreen ballet/fable was the first American recording made with the Dolby noise reduction system. It was issued on two LPs: one with English narration, the other in French. Vanguard's remastering of the English version sounds crisper than ever. The 85-year-old conductor's crackerjack ensemble (all premiere New York freelancers) navigates Stravinsky's tart, pared-down textures with vibrancy and panache. Madeline Milhaud makes a saucy narrator, ably partnered by Jean Pierre Aumont's Soldier and Met veteran Martial Singher's insidious Devil. --Dan Davis

Thomson: Suite From The River; Suite From The Plow That Broke The Plains / Stravinsky: Suite From L'Histoire Du Soldat

Average customer rating:

Thomson: Suite From The River; Suite From The Plow That Broke The Plains / Stravinsky: Suite From L'Histoire Du Soldat
Leopold Stokowski , Raymond Desroches , Loren Glickman , Julius Levine , Charles Russo , John Swallow , Gerald Tarack , Theodore Weis , and The Symphony of the Air
Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Septets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023AS
Release Date: 1994-10-25

Tracks:

Ste from The River: The Old South - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The River: Industrial Expansion In The Mississippi Valley - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The River: Soil Erosion And Floods - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The River: Finale - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Prlde - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Pastorale (Grass) - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Cattle - Sym Of The Air/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Blues (Speculation) - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Drought - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from The Plow That Broke The Plains: Devastation - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Soldier's March - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: Soldier At The Brook - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: Pastorale - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Royal March - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Little Concert - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: Three Dances: Tango/Waltz/Ragtime - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Devil's Dance - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Great Chorale - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski
Ste from L'Histoire du Soldat: The Devil's Triumphal March - Istrumental Ens/Leopold Stokowski