Leopold Stokowski - 'A Portrait of the Maestro' by Morton Gould

Stokowski was the foremost champion of the contemporary composer during his six-decades conducting career and once he became a US citizen in 1915, his advocacy of American composers became legendary. Morton Gould was just one of the countless young composers in the States whose music was premiered by Stokowski, starting in 1936 with the "Chorale and Fugue in Jazz" when Gould was a mere 22 years old. Stokowski went on to record the "Guaracha" from Gould's 'Latin-American Symphonette' as well as his "Dance Variations" for 2 Pianos and Orchestra. In this 1965 'World of Music' feature, Gould interviews the Maestro and as an added 'bonus' at the end we hear Stokowski's 1941 recording of the "Guaracha," a particular favourite of his and one which he often played an an encore.