Stokowski was a natural Brahmsian. The warm plasticity of his phrasing and his rich lower-string sonorities create a textural bedrock for the flowing wind and resonant brass, while the bright soaring violins balance the sound picture admirably. The urgently clipped rhythms in the first movement give the reading consistent energy and thrust and a strong pulse, and the slow movement similarly takes wing, as in the passage from bars 28-36 (after the fine oboe solo – track 12, 2'04'') where the violin cantilena sings out with tremendous lyrical passion.
Stokowski’s characteristic ebb and flow of rubato is individual yet warmly felt, following the Brahmsian contours persuasively and giving the performance a constantly rich espressivo. In the finale, great intensity is created in the stringendo introduction, and after the noble horn fanfare the strings set off into their famous tune with gutsy bow contact. If the recording has a curious, slightly hollow acoustic, you soon adjust: there is a thrilling sense of live music-making here, and as usual the sophisticated Dutton transfer makes the very most of the original master. Similarly, Stokowski’s magnetism in El amor brujo is arresting from the opening bars. The recording here is amazingly clear and vivid: and the super-vibrant soloist, Nan Merriman, is very present and real. The combination of Stokowskian luminosity and intensity is again very involving, the Spanish rhythms seductively caught, and there’s plenty of venom in the famous ‘Ritual Fire Dance’.'