Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) served as the Philadelphia Orchestra’s conductor from 1912 to 1936. During his time in Philadelphia, Stokowski oversaw some of the orchestra most notable artistic and technological achievements accomplishments, such as introducing the nation to Gustav Mahler via his 8th Symphony in 1916 and producing the orchestra’s first recordings starting in 1917.

 

In 1929, the orchestra began producing live radio broadcasts of concerts for NBC from its home in the Academy of Music on Broad Street. Displeased with the sound quality of the broadcasts, Stokowski sought out Dr. Harvey Fletcher of Bell Labs to help create technological solutions. Dr. Fletcher participated in Bell’s work in recording technology and acoustic research during his tenure there from the 1920s to the 1940s.