Word: toscaninis
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Other noteworthy records: Nine Beethoven Symphonies, played by the NBC Symphony under Toscanini and popularly priced (Victor, 6 LPs); Puccini's Turandot, with Inge Borkh and Mario del Monaco and St. Cecilia Academy musicians under Alberto Erede (London, 3 LPs); Ravel's Complete Piano Works, played by Walter Gieseking (Angel...
Married. Countess Emanuela Castel-barco, 19, blonde granddaughter of Conductor Arturo Toscanini; and Duke Gian Luigi Acquarone, 32, wealthy Italian nobleman; in Milan, Italy...
...orchestra played, it sounded mellow, sometimes foggy. Composers wrote symphonies to be performed under those conditions, and musicians played their instruments no better than necessary to pass muster under the mellow fog. Until the electronic age, except for musicians playing outdoors, everybody was accustomed to the old sound. When Toscanini first walked into NBC's studio 8-H, he clapped his hands, heard the echo die within a second and passed his judgment: "Too sec" i.e., dry. He was referring to the shorter reverberation time, achieved by acoustical engineers who could prove that it made music sound clearer...
...from an old back ailment, and who is perhaps not his best self in French music anyhow. For the Philharmonia is a chameleon-like instrument that almost too easily adapts to its conductor. It was formed of Britain's choice musicians primarily as a recording orchestra, which, unlike Toscanini's NBC Symphony, never had a permanent conductor. Its founder: Walter Legge, London impresario and record executive (Electrical & Musical Industries Ltd., which successfully launched Angel Records in the U.S.). In order to keep the orchestra intact, Legge not only booked concerts whenever possible, but accepted such esoteric assignments...
Unlike tempestuous Arturo Toscanini, Walter does not frighten musicians into playing right; he coaxes them. When, with his mellow German accent, he says, "Come, let's have it again." he might be talking to forgetful children, and when he says, "Once more, letter D," he sounds like a host inviting some guests to have another helping of Sacher Torte. There is endless patience, endless attention to detail. "Aha!" he shouts over the slow movement. "Ssst! Second violins, make a diminuendo ..." The music starts again, and "Right!" shouts the old gentleman vehemently, making the listener jump in his seat...