Day 5: A Labor (Day) Party for the BBC

Hey everyone! Welcome to Day 5, the first of two days devoted to the recordings Toscanini made with the BBC Symphony between 1937 and 1939.

Today must be a bit brief, due to Symphony obligations and my desire to celebrate Labor Day with as little labor as I can get away with (not that there's anything new about that). But I will do my best leave you as un-unsatisfied as my effervescent prose style will allow.

Toscanini first led the BBC Symphony in 1935, which was also his first time conducting in London. The BBC's Music Director, the great Adrian Boult, later recalled introducing Toscanini to the orchestra using ebullient language that included the word "greatest" at which point Toscanini interrupted him by saying "No, no, no, no, no. Not that at all: just an honest musician." Though it seems Toscanini's view of himself was somewhat less modest, this story says a lot about his own view of the ideal conductor.

I'll move right on to the recordings. Today I listened to Beethoven's Symphony Nos. 1 and 6, and the Brahms Tragic Overture. These were taken down in Toscanini's first recording sessions with the BBC in 1937. These recordings are particularly valuable for giving us the chance to hear Toscanini as a guest conductor.

Note: my sources disagree as to whether the Tragic Overture was recorded on the 19th of October or the 25th. For simplicity I will just list it after the two Beethoven recordings.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 - October 21st and 22nd, 1937

The first thing that strikes you about Toscanini's Pastoral is the edgy forward movement. This is not necessarily out of the character for the movement (it's titled "Joyous Feelings upon arriving in the country") but it is a bit unusual. Toscanini performed the Pastoral more than any other Beethoven symphony, and obviously had a deep feeling for it. The BBC Symphony strings are a little less weighty than those of the New York Philharmonic, but play with superb character for this piece.

The typical Toscanini tensile strength is all there in this performance, but this never becomes too serious for the nature of the work. The second movement is especially bucolic, although the sixteenth notes are played a little too aggressively to really suggest a stream. The flute playing at the end of the movement is particularly lovely. The third movement is wonderfully suggestive of a peasant dance, and the storm movement is extremely powerful. The last movement is a little less reverent than its title ("song of thanksgiving") would suggest, but it is excellent in its own way (though there is a bit of very out of tune violin playing).

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 - October 25th, 1937

The precision isn't nearly what you would hope in this recording; the cellos beat the rest of the orchestra to the punch with the very first note of the symphony. The wind intonation also leaves a bit to be desired in the opening bars. Although this settles down to be a very respectable performance of Beethoven's first symphony it is a bit contained, and radiates little of the Toscanini fire. The second movement is unnaturally broad even for its time, and sounds a bit forced. The third movement is much better but still a bit lacking in energy. The fourth movement generally feels too serious, with the string section playing with absurdly long strokes. Though this recording has all the continuity of the finest Toscanini performances, it is a bit of a disappointment in the greater context of his work.

Brahms: Tragic Overture - October 19th or 25th, 1937

The Tragic Overture was programmed on the very first orchestral concert Toscanini conducted in 1896  (when Brahms was still alive), and remained in his repertoire for the duration of his career. The tempo is unusually brisk in this performance, but feels very correct in its driving intensity. There is great strength to this reading, but also some disappointments. The middle section gets a bit slack while lacking breadth. There is also a bit of goopy portamento from the strings - very odd for a Toscanini performance, although I can't say I disapprove. Overall this recording was a joy to listen to, although it can't be considered definitive Brahms.

..................................................................................................................................................

That's all for today. Check back tomorrow for the remaining BBC recordings. Happy Labor Day everyone!