Born Antoni Stanislaw Boleslawawicz, conductor Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) began life in London with a Polish father and an English mother, yet spent most of his professional career in the United States. Contemporary critics and rivals often disdained both his popularization of classical music and his willingness to alter or rewrite standard works. Yet he also pioneered much of what became standard both in orchestral seating and practice and worked in the development of recording and play-back electronics. Even years after his death, Stokowski is remembered for his work in Walt Disney's Fantasia, particularly the sequence involving Mickey Mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."