The treasure here is Stokowski’s account of Falla’s El amor brujo, given at a Prom in 1964. It is so electrifying that one can hardly believe that an 82-year-old is responsible. The bite of the opening at once has one sitting up, and from then on in almost every movement Stokowski opts for fast speeds. So the ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ has the players of the BBC Symphony Orchestra challenged to the limit, and the result is all the more exciting thanks to high dynamic contrasts. Though in the ‘Pantomime’ Stokowski takes a literal view of the crypto-Cuban rhythms, that goes with extra freshness and clarity. Consistently Stokowski finds toughness in the score as well as colour and atmosphere, and his soloist, Gloria Lane, with her fruity mezzo tone-colours, sounds comparably idiomatic.
The Britten – which Stokowski had never conducted before this 1963 Proms performance – is by contrast too relaxed, even lethargic at the start, with a big rallentando at the end of the Purcell theme, even if the performance grows tauter later on. The Beethoven, like the Falla, brings a performance of high contrasts, with the first movement pressed hard, and the slow speed for the Allegretto made persuasive through subtle phrasing and rhythmic control. As in other performances, Stokowski then mutilates the Scherzo by eliminating the second reprise of the Trio and the third of the Scherzo proper, though the point and vigour are splendid, as they are in his rumbustious account of the finale. A mixed bag then, but one with plenty of magic, and the BBC sound is full and atmospheric, particularly in the Falla.'