STOKOWSKI, LEOPOLD (ANTONI STANISLAW BOLESLAWAWICZ)

born April 18, 1882, London died Sept. 13, 1977, Nether Wallop, Hampshire, Eng. virtuoso British-born U.S. conductor known for his flamboyant showmanship and the rich sonorities of his orchestras and for his influence as a popularizer of classical music. Stokowski was trained at the Royal College of Music, London, and Queen's College, Oxford, and held positions as an organist before becoming conductor of the Cincinnati (Ohio) Symphony (190912). He gained an international reputation as musical director of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1912 to 1936, and he frequently conducted concerts with them until 1941. He introduced youth concerts and performed contemporary works by Mahler, Edgard Varse, and Stravinsky and conducted the world premiere of Charles Ives's Fourth Symphony. He also experimented with the placement of various sections of the orchestra and occasionally changed the written orchestration of the music he performed. Organizer of the All-American Youth Orchestra, he conducted the NBC Symphony (194144) with Toscanini and founded low-priced concerts at the New York City Center (194445). He directed the New York Philharmonic (194650) and the Houston (Texas) Symphony (195562) and in 1962 formed the American Symphony Orchestra in New York City. Stokowski made three films with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940), and wrote a book, Music for All of Us (1943). He also made symphonic transcriptions of Bach's works.