![]() ![]() and in Europe, and the resistance he encountered when requesting each stand of strings to play with opposite bowings. I remember Stokowski’s rehearsals in the U.S. When guest-conducting, this request caused orchestras much grief and displeasure. One of his most famous habits was to demand that the strings play with free bowings. But he also made conscious efforts to request specific playing from his orchestras. Part of what Stokowski did to obtain his kind of sound must have been unconscious, a reflection of his gestures and approach. In fact, with Eugene Ormandy, this sound continued in the same tradition, but naturally acquired some changes over the years. It became known as the “Philadelphia sound”. Stokowski’s idea of sound was unmistakable and special, and it remained with the Philadelphia Orchestra for many decades after Stokowski’s departure. What has happened? Do performers listen to each other’s recordings and unconsciously imitate one another? Are today’s performers afraid to take chances, and want to be literal to the point of excluding personal approach? Why has the sound quality of many orchestras become so similar? ![]() While technique and performance standards seem to have improved, there is a world-wide unanimity of approach that makes many performances copies of each other. Sadly, most orchestras today have acquired a similarity of sound. Some ensembles, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, had very few changes in personnel, and a vast majority of the musicians had been trained by the same teachers, in the same school. But conductors were not the only decisive factors. These differences were partially the result of conductors spending long decades with their orchestras. There was a time when orchestras had a distinctive quality that set them easily apart. This theory works in both extremes and also in the present reality of music-making around the world. It would be a natural reaction to the conductor’s idea of sound, acquired after years of listening to a specific quality of sound. While it can be argued that the students would sit up, concentrate, and do their best when confronted with a known personality, the change in the actual sound quality they produce would be involuntary. It seems logical that if a conductor who has spent years directing the Vienna Philharmonic has an encounter with a school orchestra, this group will soon sound smooth and refined. The degree to which that produces a dramatic influence is related, partially, to the sound that has become imprinted in the conductor’s memory. It has to do with the sound the conductor has imprinted in his ear, and the conductor’s ability to produce that same sound from any orchestra. This has nothing to do with the technical aspects of performance. It is not unusual for the sound of a professional ensemble to acquire some of the characteristics of a student group when working under the direction of a school orchestra conductor. This was not a talent unique to Stokowski. One explanation could be that Stokowski had a special sound in his mind, and his gestures and facial expressions had the ability to communicate this sound to any orchestra. There was nothing that he had said or done to make such an obvious change, other than to start rehearsing after a minimal greeting. ![]() The sound of the orchestra would change within moments of the first encounter with Stokowski. This is from the article written by Jose Serebrier who I am talking allot about this and future surround recordings written about Stokowski transcriptions: I think this is not just a great question but also a need subject to discuss for us as a surround sound activists in music community: ![]()
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