Bach: Famous Transcriptions.(Sound Recording Review)

Bach: Famous Transcriptions. Leopold Stokowski, Symphony Orchestra. EM17243-5-57758-0-1 (2-disc set).

Leopold Stokowski was a mere lad in his seventies when he made these recordings of Bach transcriptions in 1957-58 with his handpicked Symphony Orchestra. His own orchestral arrangements of works originally written either for solo organ or small baroque ensembles are probably still an acquired taste, but they've been around for so long and have become so well known, a lot of us take them for granted as being entirely "Bach."

This two-disc set contains a seventy-minute CD of eleven of his famous Bach arrangements, plus a DVD of a 1972 performance of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'unfaune, recorded live with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London. More about that in a minute, but first, a brief look at the Bach, which begins with the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, continues with things like the "Little" Fugue in G minor, the "Air on the G String" from the Orchestral Suite No. 3, the "Preludio" from the Violin Partita No. 3 among others, and, of course, the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor to close the show.

I prefer the old man doing the slower Bach items, Stokowski displaying a marvelous sensitivity and eloquence in the gentler music, although there is no denying that the big moments in the Toccatas come across with an excitement that is quite inspiring, too. Best of all, the sound, nearly a ...