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Tchaikovsky's "Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32" & "Hamlet, Op. 67" are performed under the baton of English conductor Leopold Stokowski. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearance in the Disney film Fantasia. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed Mastered from the original Everest Master Tapes, this series of releases from Countdown Media have been given new light and clarity through high-resolution digital transfer. "The Everest catalog is one of the truly historic and ground-breaking music catalogs of the past half century. Everest created a number of historical sonic and music benchmarks during its early history in the 1950’s and 60’s. Everest was one of only two labels (arguably the first, with the historic Mercury Living Presence to follow) to record in 3-channel stereo, mostly with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic (in the guise of the 'Stadium Symphony Orchestra' due to contractual obligations). Some of the famed conductors active during the middle of the century, including Leopold Stokowski, Sir Malcom Sargent and Sir Adrian Boult, were responsible for these ground-breaking recordings on 35mm video tape (also a landmark accomplishment which would hearken the arrival a decade later of the usage of 2” master tape for studio recording)." - Lutz Rippe (Countdown Media)