Introduction
Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) was one of the 20th Century's greatest orchestral conductors. British-born of Polish-Irish ancestry, his musical career was made in the United States, where he became a naturalised American citizen. He built the Philadelphia Orchestra into one of the world's finest orchestral ensembles, championed countless contemporary composers, made hundreds of outstanding recordings, appeared in several motion pictures, and in his later years guest-conducted all over the world to tremendous acclaim. He was still active at the time of his death at the age of 95 in 1977.
Two years later The Leopold Stokowski
Society was formed. Its objectives were
devoted to the reissue of Stokowski's
recordings, performances of his celebrated
orchestral transcriptions, and the appreciation
of his life and work. The Society published its
own magazine, entitled TOCCATA, thee times
a year, and in conjunction with Cala Records
released historic Stokowski recordings on CD
twice a year. However, as will be seen in the
News section, after 30 years of highly fruitful
activity and existence, for various reasons the
Society is closing down at the end of 2009.