Compare performersPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Waltz of the Flowers, in three recordings
Waltz of the Flowers — principal-waltz passage
Stokowski, Robinson and a concert band play the harp flourish, the horn tune and the waltz that follows.
Recordings in
this comparison
Choose a recording and press Play. Selecting another card continues playback from the matching point in that recording.
Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski
The Philadelphia Orchestra in Camden’s Trinity Church studio, with the original horn melody and string accompaniment.
Stanford Robinson, National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra of London, Stanford Robinson
London’s National Symphony Orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s scoring, recorded at Kingsway Hall in January 1945.
United States Air Force Band
Lawrence Odom’s arrangement for concert band, recorded for Christmas on Stage and Screen. The wind instruments play the parts written for strings.
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Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.
The harp plays a flourish, and four horns begin the dance. Stokowski’s Philadelphia orchestra and Robinson’s London players keep Tchaikovsky’s scoring, in which the violins then take over. Lawrence Odom’s concert-band arrangement gives the string parts to wind players.
Tempo map
Time taken compared with Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.
- Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra · reference
- Stanford Robinson, National Symphony Orchestra
- United States Air Force Band
Passages compared
Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.
- 01
Horn melody
1:00 in the referenceFour horns play the first tune above a plucked bass and quiet chords from the strings.
- 02
Clarinet runs between horn phrases
1:30 in the referenceThe clarinet plays runs of quick notes between the horns’ phrases; the accompaniment keeps up the three-beat dance rhythm.
- 03
String melody
2:00 in the referenceThe strings play a fuller melody while brass chords mark the beat and the woodwind add quick flourishes.
Length of each recording
- Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra3:28
- Stanford Robinson, National Symphony Orchestra3:16
- United States Air Force Band7:30
These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.
Recording notes
Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra in Camden’s Trinity Church studio, with the original horn melody and string accompaniment.
Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski
1934
Stanford Robinson, National Symphony Orchestra
London’s National Symphony Orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s scoring, recorded at Kingsway Hall in January 1945.
National Symphony Orchestra of London, Stanford Robinson
January 1945, Kingsway Hall, London
United States Air Force Band
Lawrence Odom’s arrangement for concert band, recorded for Christmas on Stage and Screen. The wind instruments play the parts written for strings.
United States Air Force Band, Concert Band
1996
Further reading
- Stokowski — 1934 session and release, first side
- Robinson — January 1945 session, September release
- United States Air Force Band recording and Lawrence Odom arrangement
- Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers: Jurgenson full score, pp. 5–7
- Damian’s 78s: Robinson’s Nutcracker sessions at Kingsway Hall, January 1945; the Waltz is listed under 26 January, differing from the Swiss catalogue’s 18 January
How the recordings are matched
The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.
- Stanford Robinson, National Symphony Orchestra: match score 0.968. Matched passages available.
- United States Air Force Band: match score 0.952. Matched passages available.
Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.