Hey everyone! Welcome to Day 54!
For today I listened to two tone poems and an overture. Two of these three recordings are remakes of works Toscanini recorded with the New York Philharmonic between 1929 and 1936, allowing an interesting glimpse both into how the conductor's interpretation changed over the years and into how these interpretations were carried out by different orchestras. As you will see, I think both the New York Philharmonic and the younger Toscanini are the winners of these comparisons. But we are still quite fortunate to have these later recordings, as they give us the chance to hear Toscanini conduct this music in sound quality that is still perfectly listenable.
Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice - March 19th, 1950
Toscanini's biographers seem to pretty much unanimously feel that this NBC recording is vastly superior to the 1929 New York Philharmonic set. Mortimer H. Frank, for example, calls the earlier recording "unduly rushed," and feels that the NBC reading "succeeds far better in conveying the music's wit and programmatic content." Well, Mr. Frank is welcome to his opinion, but I can't say I agree. My own test for an effective reading of this work is whether or not in its performance I can picture Mickey Mouse in full panic mode.
Despite the ancient vintage of the sound quality, I get much more of a sense of the brilliance of Dukas's kaleidoscopic colors from the earlier recording than from the later one from NBC. The 1950 recording seems almost self-consciously spacious to my ears (beyond the famous contrabassoon solo, which in both recordings is bizarrely played almost strictly in tempo), and lacking in drama. Though the NBC account has strength and precision, it is not in my view the most effective document of this work as led by Arturo Toscanini. I think Mickey would agree.
Smetana: The Moldau - March 19th, 1950
Though this performance is a bit harder-edged than one usually encounters of this piece, it has a lovely sheen to it than in its own way is beautifully atmospheric. The running figures in the flutes that open the work are virtuosic, but never self-consciously so. Meanwhile, the more light-hearted episodes possess a dancing buoyancy that is made all the more effective by Toscanini's forward-moving conception. This is a wonderful recording, and one I would eagerly return to again.
This has nothing directly to do with Toscanini, but I would be remiss if I did not at this point mention the recent beautiful use of The Moldau in director Terrence Malick's stunning film The Tree of Life. Smetana's tone poem is used in the film to symbolize the joy of the newness of young life. Rivers are often used in literature and in paintings as metaphors for the cycle of life. The use of this most famous musical evocation of a river at this point of a film called The Tree of Life illuminates the power of this music in a way that the auditory sense alone cannot provide. Sometimes it takes a film to show the art that is in music.
As it turns out, it is actually not a complete stretch to write about The Tree of Life while blogging about the recorded legacy of Arturo Toscanini. As we will see in Day 62, there is in fact a direct and fascinating connection between the two. But that's a story that can wait until the right moment in the cycle of this blog's life.
Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri Overture - April 14th, 1950
Toscanini's 1936 recording of this overture with the New York Philharmonic is one of the glories of his discography. It is a prime example of a master conductor at the height of his powers collaborating with one of the world's great orchestras to produce music-making of exceptional precision and tonal beauty. This 1950 recording with the NBC Symphony, on the other hand, is a sad display of Toscanini's fading energy. There is still intelligence and crisp precision in this performance, but the NBC Symphony does not respond with anything like the resplendent energy of the New York Philharmonic.
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That's it for Day 54!
Check back tomorrow for something Shakespearean, though with a distinctly Italian accent.
Happy Monday!
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