Customer Reviews

Arturo Toscanini Legacy, Vol. 7 - Wagner: Orchestral Music

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It is difficult in our time to think of the music of Wagner as a contemporary. But for Arturo Toscanini, who made his conducting debut in 1886, only three years after Wagner's death, that is exactly how it was. Toscanini was an early champion of Wagner's music, leading the first performance of Gotterdammerung by an Italian Opera Company in 1895, and performing orchestral excerpts long before it was fashionable outside of Germany. He continued to perform the composer's music in the United States, including during World War II, when it was out of favor due to the Nazi's use of the music--and Wagner's anti-Semitism--for propaganda purposes. Astonishingly, Toscanini lived long enough to conduct two all-Wagner concerts on television.

Toscanini's Wagner has long been criticized in some circles as superficial, fast, lacking in guts, and "Italianate"--an example of ethnic stereotyping which would not be tolerated in any other profession. The performances on these CDs strongly refute that assertion. They are nontraditional, to be sure--and all the more convincing for that.

Take, for example, Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music from Gotterdammerung: during the violin triplets leading to the March's climax, Toscanini does not accelerate through the figurations, as is usually done, but rather SLOWS the tempo, creating a greater sense of anticipation. The effect is stunning, greatly increasing the emotional impact of the music.

Toscanini was unafraid to move beyond the "popular" sections of Wagner's output. He conducted Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1931--the slowest performance of that opera ever given at Wagner's shrine up to that time. His 1949 recording of the Prelude and Good Friday Spell from that opera reveal a nobility which has nothing to do with bombast.

The recordings on this 2-CD set date from 1949-1952. The remastering is nothing short of remarkable, far eclipsing early 1990s CD reissue. Utilizing the best technology now available, RCA has done the right thing by hiring a musician--conductor Edward Houser--rather than whiz-bang technicians to supervise the remastering.  The NBC Symphony Orchestra now sounds better than ever before, with greater clarity, smoother strings, fuller winds, and less distortion during fortissimos. There is a very slight high-pitched electronic noise during Siegfried's Funeral March, but it is only noticeable at high volume.

Having already reissued on CD just about everything Toscanini left on their label, RCA Victor is now reissuing them all "digitally remastered using UV22 Super CD Encoding" with its "20-bit resolution" under the series title "The Immortal Toscanini." But eschewing the technobabble and marketing theology, the results sound great and are now selling at a 2-for-1 price. Now it might be the psychological effect of the Toscanini legend, but these dry-sounding monophonic performances have electricity that one simply does not find elsewhere. Vol. VII of this series, devoted to Wagner, includes "The Ride of the Valkyries," "Dawn and Rheinjourney," "Siegried's Death and Funeral March," Prelude and Liebestod from "Tristan," Act III Prelude to "Meistersinger," Prelude and Good Friday Spell from "Parsifal," Preludes to Acts I and III from "Lohengrin," and Overture and Bacchanal from "Tannhauser." All but the "Tannhauser" selection, which was broadcast in 1952 from NBC, were recorded in 1949-52 at Carnegie Hall; and the sound is what you would expect. But this is a souvenir of an earlier age so the sound is no negative feature. It would be interesting to compare almost all of these selections with fuller stereo versions conducted by (say) Von Karajan, where the beauty of the music is given fuller emphasis. Toscanini, like no other conductor, managed to bring out the sheer excitement of these thrice-familiar selections. (Yes, Solti came close in his complete recordings of the Ring and had the advantage of stereo.) Still that is where the value of this set re-issue lies. In fact, I find the dry sound something of advantage, in so far as each section of the orchestra is remarkably clear and distinguishable. But again, my ear might be playing tricks. So at a 2-for-1 price, this is a definite Grabbit.

Of all the "Immortal Toscanini" albums thus far released, this one has the best overall sound. Why? Because everything in it was recorded in Carnegie Hall, which gave the NBC Sym-"phony" its most realistic sound and, as of all the sets in this series, the renastering is nothing short of fantastic.

Regarding the performances, they are remarkably similar in musical concept to Furtwangler but leaner and more transparent in orchestral sonorities. (Contrary to popular myth, the old "Toscanini-vs.-Furtwangler" canard, Toscanini admired much of what Furtwangler did, and in fact recommended him as his replacement with the New York Philharmonic.) This gives us, for instance, a very Romantic-sounding if less lush "Tristan und Isolde" Prelude and Liebestod, but a more biting and exciting "Ride of the Valkyries." Two of the best performances in this set are the lilting, almost dance-like interpretation of the Siegfried "Forest murmurs" and the lyrical, exultant interpretation of the Gotterdammerung "Dawn and Rhine Journey." The Meistersinger and Parsifal selections are surprisingly slow and autumnal but, as with most Toscanini, the forward momentum never really lags. To me, this version of "Siegfried's Death and Funeral March" doesn't quite have the intensity of Albert Coates' but, then again, neither do the versions by Furtwangler, Solti or Clemens Krauss. The Lohengin and Tannhauser excerpts, again, are somewhat like Furtwangler, though Toscanini's brass always "bit" more strongly in the Lohengrin Act III Prelude. Overall, an outstanding set, and well worth having as the best-sounding souvenir of AT's way with Wagner.

Although Toscanini was usually associated closely with Italian opera, particularly the works of Verdi, he made it clear that he considered Richard Wagner the master when it came to musical drama. He had a long-standing appreciation of Wagner, which led him to conduct many of the composer's works during his long career. Furthermore, Toscanini was the first non-German conductor to be invited to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, in 1930. The invitation came from no less than Siegfried Wagner, the composer's son.

Unfortunately, the only complete opera by Wagner that Toscanini ever recorded was "Meistersinger," during the Salzburg Festival in 1937. In Toscanini's many recordings with the NBC Symphony for RCA Victor, he recorded only excerpts from Wagner's operas. Nevertheless, the excerpts of Wagner's music are quite impressive.

One of the more memorable recordings was of the finale to Act I of "Walkure," recorded during a broacast concert in Carnegie Hall in February 1941 with soprano Helen Traubel and tenor Lauritz Melchior. Typically, the Maestro drove the orchestra relentlessly, maintaining intensity and excitement throughout. The same wonderful results can be heard in the 1952 recording of "The Ride of the Valkyries," a concert arrangement derived from "Walkure." This performance builds and builds as the valkyries ride.

Toscanini's recordings in the early 1950's tend to be rather "bright," since RCA was emphasizing the highs in "high fidelity," sometimes overshadowing the bass tones. Still, despite some tampering with the sound, such performances are absolutely amazing, given the fact that the Maestro was in his eighties at the time.

In all of the Wagner music he conducted, one is absolutely amazed at his fidelity to the composer's intentions. He may have come closer to what Wagner wanted than any other conductor.

An unfortunate incident came in Toscanini's final NBC broadcast concert, in Carnegie Hall on April 4, 1954, when his emotions over his impending retirement got the best of him. It has become legendary how he faltered during the "Venusburg" music of the Tannhauser overture (Paris version) and NBC temporarily replaced the broadcast with a recording of the Brahms first symphony. Adding to the misfortune of that concert is that it was one of the few times the NBC Symphony under Toscanini was recorded in stereo; despite excellent sound, the orchestra simply did not play its best that day. None of that happened in the 1952 studio recording of the same overture, also recorded in Carnegie Hall.

This compilation features the best of Toscanini's performances of Wagner and is definitely worth having. It is an opportunity to really appreciate the greatness of Wagner's music, even if his personal life was marred by his egotism and racism.

This review relates to the Toscanini recordings
of Wagner selections with the NBC Symphony
Orchestra, Vol. VII, in the BMG series, "Arturo
Toscanini: The Immortal"
In the enclosed brochure, the producers of the
recording tell about the new remastering which
has prompted the releasing of this particular
set of Toscanini recordings. "The recordings in
this new series were made using 20-bit recording
technology, UV22 (TM) Super CD Encoding, Cello
and Struder tape systems and were processed from
the original analog source tape masters at the
BMG/RCA Studios in New York."
All it takes is listening to the "Forest Murmurs"
selection from -Siegfried- to hear what the
"masterful" and "clarity" mean. The sound of
the French horns and glockenspiel are brilliant
and fascinating...the final orchestral chord
on each of these pieces is august. There is
no murkiness in these interpretations --
all is pristine, but the pace is not slow.
I was privileged to be able to preview
listen to the recordingbefore I bought the recording...just
hearing the first section of the "Ride of
the Valkyries" let me know that I wanted
the recording (2 CDs for the price of one).
My ears are perfectionist, so it takes a
lot of different elements combined to satisfy
my acutely sensitive ears and aesthetic
longings. The quality of the earphones or
playback system will, no doubt, affect
the quality of sound delivery. The earphones
at the sound was richer than the earphone
quality of a Sony Discman which I am playing
it on as I type this review. On the Discman
earphones, the sound is a bit too treble (though
those brasses still come through with full-
bodied energy and verve) and "boxy." One
of the recordings is from a live performance,
so be forewarned that you will hear a cough or
two. But, for the price, the mastery of
conducting and recording reprocessing, this
duo can't be bettered.
"Holder Sang/ singt zu mir her." ["Lovely
sounds/ ravish my ears."] -Das Rheingold-.

Toscanini was a mercurial conductor, a force of nature and the performances of Wagner are filled with deep commitment , when you play Wagner you must notice the existence of several gravity centers you must keep in mind. Otherwise you can play a lineal Wagner and that would be a mess. The score and the dramatic sequence are so important and even more perhaps that the music itself . They work out as if they were twins , So if you want to win in Wagner you have to maintain in your mind the dyoinisiac and apolinean features in the performance .
Beethoven seventh is filled with histamine and powerful and overwhelming rhytm presence .
It's not my favorite Seventh I must confess but it has character , violence and rapture , and with these elements it's very difficult for you to fail the challenge.
One of the major achievements of the master Toscanini.

What is there about Toscanini? Everything he does sounds more emotional, more intense and exciting, and more beautiful than any other conductor's. His Wagner is no exception, and the remastering of the Immortal Toscanini series is just excellent. While I am not a Wagner expert, nor do I like all of the selections on this set, that's my reaction to Wagner, not Toscanini. This is just outstanding work, as good as his Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, or any other of the composers he recorded.

On this set, I especially like the Meistersinger prelude. I have heard this done by other conductors, such as Kempe who does a very fine job with it, but still Toscanini somehow manages to get the utmost emotion from the work, more evocative than anyone else.

This is a two disc set that I will go back to again and again. Highest recommendation. The only mystery is why RCA/BMG decided to discontinue production, really hard to understand.

If you didn't know that this 2-CD Wagner miscellany was condcuted by Toscanini, you wouldn't find it extraordinary. Unlike Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer, who lived to great old age and made some of their most sympathetic recordings after turning 75, the aged Toscanini has required special pleading. On the surface, the many recordings he made with the NBC Sym.--these Wagner pieces span 1949 to 1952--are often brusque, rigid, screechy in climaxes, dry to the point of unlistenability, and without expressive relaxation. This was great conducting?

Yes, devotees insisted, but you had to listen through the claustrophic sound and imagine the younger Toscanini thruogh the inflexible stick discipline. As the years went on, that became too hard to do, and despite his legendary status, Toscanini became a dead letter. The younger conductors he inspired--Szell, Leinsdorf, Solti--are dead, too, though in their prime they all made similar recordings in much beter sound than The Maestro.

This newly remastered "Immortal" series goes a long way to repairing the defective sound. It's now fuller and has audible air around the orchestra. You no longer feel you are suffocating in a closed box with a hundred trapped musicians. As for the interpretations, Wagner is a good place to start rehabilitating Toscanini for modern ears. Even in his late seventies and eighties, Toscanini remained an expansive Wagnerite. Several excerpts here, such as the Tristan Prelude and Love Death, the Parsifal Act I Prelude and Good Friday Music, and the Lohengrin Act I Prelude, are broad and contemplative. They radiate a serene inner beauty quite at odds with Toscanini's reputation for knife-edge tenseness.

But except for the Tristan Prelude--and then only the first half--I wouldn't call these readings great. Toscanini was famous for making orchestras play precisely, and he punished slackness with cruel invective and tantrums. Now, however, every major orchestra plays with more finesse and technique than the NBC Symphony. The crude trumpets bray painfully in the middle part of the Parsifal Prelude, the solo horn in Siegfried's Rhine Journey sounds as timid as a conservatory student, and we are reminded that Toscanini didn't have a totally first-rate ensemble at his command. On the other hand, the strings are radiant in the same Parsifal music, for the first time sounding sweet and inspirational.

To my ears there is only one great performance here, a rivetig Dawn and Rhine Journey from Gotterdammerung that blazes with intensity and conviction. Nothing else quite rises to that standard, and we are left to perform the difficult trick of imagining how much better this all would have been in Toscanini's heyday between the wars. I am not that imaginative, so I'd say this is an excellent portrait of Toscanini the elder, totally free of blemishes but not at a sublime level of musicianship.