January 02: The Maestro Arrives

On this day in 1938, famed conductor Leopold Stokowski arrived in Los Angeles, California to begin work on a Disney project. Known as the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he came to the west coast to conduct a session for Disney's animated short The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Walt Disney had first met Stokowski in late 1937 while they were both dining alone at Chasen's restaurant in Hollywood. Stokowski had offered to conduct the music for Walt's newest project ... for free. Out of this chance meeting came the very basic concepts for what would be the 1940 Fantasia.
On January 9, 1938 Stokowski conducted a recording session in Culver City, California for The Sorcerer's Apprentice using local musicians. The piece of music (originally written by Paul Dukas) was also titled The Sorcerer's Apprentice. This would be the only music used in Fantasia not performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

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