The Fantastic Stokowski (the famous arrangements in fabulous Telarc sound!)

"...this is a most enjoyable disc which should please not only Stokowski fans but also those who simply enjoy an expertly assembled, gorgeously recorded, and impressively performed pops program." -Fanfare

Rosette (highest rating) Penguin Stereo Guide

"Indeed, none of Stokowski's own recordings can match this Telarc disc in sheer glamour of sound…..superbly engineered." (Penguin Guide)

Erich Kunzel's first conducting appearance with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, in October 1965, was a sold-out 8 O'Clock Pops concert at Music Hall. It was the beginning of a relationship with concert audiences the Cincinnati Enquirer described as "a musical love affair that works." When the CSO Board of Trustees officially established the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1977, Erich Kunzel was named the orchestra's Conductor. He has since led the ensemble to unprecedented success with music lovers worldwide who have discovered the CPO through tour performances, television programs and best-selling Telarc recordings.

Maestro Kunzel leads the Pops in two recordings for 2002. The orchestra's 71st CD with Telarc, Celtic Spectacular, a celebration of Irish music and culture, is scheduled for March and features the Chieftains, tenor John McDermott and flutist James Galway. Halloween will be celebrated with the September release of a highly anticipated follow-up to 1989's Chiller recording.

The 2001-02 Season, the 24th for the Pops, began with the August release of Music of the Beatles, which featured such classic hits as "Eleanor Rigby," "All You Need Is Love," "When I'm Sixty-Four," and "Penny Lane." The world-renowned British vocal sextet king'singers contributed their talents to this recording. In May 2001, Telarc and the Pops released a Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) featuring the "1812" Overture and other Tchaikovsky selections.

The Pops' 68th CD was released in fall 2000 and includes Viennese favorites by the Strauss family, Franz Lehar, Josef Lanner and others. Mega Movies, released in May 2000, features blockbuster movie themes and "mega" sound effects from films like The Mummy, The Mask of Zorro, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Titanic. Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound, was released in January 2000 and includes beloved tunes such as "Night and Day," "Nice 'n' Easy" and "The Lady is a Tramp," all performed using the original Nelson Riddle orchestrations. Among the Pops' other recent releases are its 65th (Maestro Kunzel's 100th recording over all), Magical Musicals, featuring the music of recent Disney films, and On Broadway, a compilation of hits from modern Broadway blockbusters.

The orchestra's fifth national PBS program, "A Family Thanksgiving," was aired in November 1999. The sixth special for national PBS broadcast, "Fourth of July from the Heartland," was televised live across the nation on July 4, 2000. Maestro Kunzel and the Pops celebrated Valentine's Day with the entire country, when its fourth holiday-themed special, "Love is in the Air," was broadcast nationwide on PBS in February 1999 and seen by more than 5 million households. The orchestra raised a toast to the entire country with its third PBS holiday special, "Erich Kunzel's Big Band New Year's Eve," which was first broadcast on PBS in 1997. The Christmas Eve 1995 broadcast of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Holiday Concert, with special guest Mel Torme, marked the first in this series of national holiday broadcasts. The 1996 Halloween "Spooktacular" was the second.

Erich Kunzel is the most successful Billboard Classical Crossover recording artist in history. In 1991, Billboard named him the Classical Crossover Artist of the Year for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. Of the Cincinnati Pops' Telarc releases, 52 have appeared on either the Classical Crossover or Classical Billboard charts. No orchestra in the world has matched that record! The Sound of Music, Victory at Sea and Chiller have appeared in the #1 position on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart. The Magical Music of Disney enjoyed five weeks at #1, was in the top 10 for 74 weeks, and was named Billboard's #1 Top Independent Classical Album for 1995. The Pops and Telarc won their first Grammy in 1998 for Copland: Music of America, and four other Pops/Telarc recordings have earned Grammy nominations: Copland: Lincoln Portrait in 1987, A Disney Spectacular in 1989 (also Best Classical Record of the Year in Japan), The Music Man in 1991 and Amen! A Gospel Celebration in 1993. American Jubilee was awarded France's Grand Prix du Disque in 1989.