Leopold Stokowski, or the freedom to interpret...

"A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."
                                                                                                                         Leopold Stokowski

How would have wrote his music Johann Sebastian Bach, if he was born in the nineteenth century and had to compose for a great symphony orchestra? This is what they ask themselves many composers and musicians from a hundred years or so. One of these was the great conductor Leopold Stokowski who transcribed many works of the great German composer for symphony orchestra.

But the decidedly romantic interpretation of this transcriptions,  sparked some purist critics who spoke of sacrilege. And today? With the rivers of ink have been poured on how it should be interpret the baroque music, especially Bach, performances like those of the great Leopold would perhaps unimaginable in our area.

The interpretation of the music of the seventeenth and eighteenth century has faced in recent years a progressive crystallization. Everywhere in Italy and in Europe have arisen chairs of baroque instruments and many manuals have been written with strict rules for the interpretation of baroque music. This subtracts more and more freedom to the musicians, who should have the right to be as close as possible to that which was the way to perform this music at the time, both totally reinterpret it, molding  in according to his own time and culture, giving new life to the music!

We also forget that the Baroque was the era of fantasy, of the excess of improvisation, of the performer liberty. So, they are welcome detailed studies on baroque performance practice (but I remember that, having no records, it is impossible to reconstruct exactly the ancient way of playing), and also increase the philological performances with original instruments. But avoid to pontificate on what you can do and what not, saying that experimentation about new ways of interpreting a composer is a product of populist subculture, as if the musicians has become a mere executor of ideas imposed by other.

The Music is alive. Music is life and like life, cannot be reined in patterns and codicils.

Through Leopold Stokowski’s fascinating and persuasive orchestrations, contemporaries people may find the curiosity to approach also the “original” Bach.

But this is just my opinion…

L.F.