Walt Disney - Fantasia (EAC.FLAC)

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Walt Disney - (Walt Disney's) Fantasia 2 Disc Set
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Category Rock/Pop, Soundtrack, Children's, Film Composers
Label Disney
Orig Year 1991
All Time Sales Rank 7012
CD Universe Part number 1481072
Catalog number 860007
Discs 2
Release Date Jul 31, 2001
Studio/Live Studio
Recording Time 103 minutes

Performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

Leopold Strokowski's 1940 recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the
movie Fantasia were landmarks on several counts. Apart from attempting to bring
classical ... Full Descriptionmusic to the masses in the theater, the
soundtrack album -- which came out on LP in the 1950s -- was one of the earliest
stereo recordings, featuring some of the most enjoyable high-fidelity sound of
the period and boasting impeccable performances (even if the pieces were mostly
re-edited and shortened). Apart from his reputation as a fiercely independent
musical personality, Stokowski was also a showman with very few peers, and his
careful yet extroverted performances of these pieces (including Stravinsky's
"The Rite of Spring" and the summary of Beethoven's "Pastorale Symphony") introduced
many listeners not blessed with classical music educations to these pieces for the
first time. (As the film wasn't a success on its initial release, there weren't
millions of such listeners, but at least many tens of thousands.) The performances
on Fantasia retain their luster in the modern era, with sound clean enough that
they do not need to be considered "historical" recordings. The recordings are also
infinitely preferable to the mid-'80s attempt to re-score Fantasia with a modern
orchestra and modern sound -- not only did the latter fall considerably short of
what people expected, but the interpretations were flaccid and dull by comparison
with the originals. ~ Bruce Eder
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