The Philadelphia Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin Music Director

Given that Wagner’s “The Ride of The Valkyries” was a top selection during our Audience Choice vote we felt it would only be appropriate to share a couple of stunning images that James Alexander and his team have created especially for this work, which the Orchestra performs next Saturday evening.

Brünnhilde materializes out of the vapors and appears inside the Academy of Music.

Stokowski wanted to control and perfect every aspect of how his orchestra sounded, live and over the airwaves. Stokowski had an experimental device created that allowed him to both conduct the orchestra and control the volume levels of the broadcast at the same time. This cartoon, which ran in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on December 28, 1930, depicts Stokowski’s multi-tasking talents as conductor and engineer.

A sketch of Leopold Stokowski from the early 1930s.

On January 27, 1933, Leopold Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra teamed up with Bell Telephone Labs in New Jersey to experiment with new technology that allowed for a broadcast of a concert from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. The Orchestra performed live in the Academy of Music while an audience in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., listened to the Orchestra remotely, the audio-only broadcast accompanied by a colored light show. But where was Stokowski?

You have spoken! The final votes are in on the Audience Choice concert and you all put together a fantastic program for Saturday evening, June 23, at the Academy of Music. It was fascinating to watch the close race among the top choices. There were a few lead changes and some surprising results. In the end, here's what came out on top, and how Yannick has organized them into a compelling concert:Bach/orch. Stokowski Toccata and Fugue in D minor