Arturo Toscanini (born March 25, 1867; died January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most highly praised and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known for his intensity, perfectionism, attention to the details of how the orchestra sounds, and his ability to remember music perfectly. He was the music director of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic at different times. Later in his career, he became the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1954. This role helped him become well-known in the United States through radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of operas and symphonies.

Biography

Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna. His father worked as a tailor. He earned a scholarship to study at the Parma Conservatory, where he learned to play the cello. Life at the conservatory was strict and difficult. The menu included mostly fish; later in life, Toscanini refused to eat any food from the sea.

He joined an opera company led by Claudio Rossi and toured Brazil in 1886. After performing in São Paulo, the conductor hired for the next performance in Rio de Janeiro, Leopoldo Miguez, gave up his position hours before the show. He told newspapers that the orchestra’s behavior caused his decision. A replacement conductor, Carlo Superti, faced strong public opposition and failed to lead the orchestra. In a last attempt, singers suggested their assistant chorusmaster, who knew the opera from memory. Although he had no experience conducting, Toscanini was persuaded by the musicians to take the baton at 9:15 p.m. and led a performance of the two-and-a-half-hour opera entirely from memory.

The audience was surprised by Toscanini’s youth, confidence, and strong musical ability. His performance received great praise. For the rest of that season, Toscanini conducted 18 operas, each one a success. This marked the start of his career as a conductor at age 19.

After returning to Italy, Toscanini followed two paths. He continued conducting, making his first appearance in Italy at the Teatro Carignano in Turin on November 4, 1886, in the world premiere of the revised version of Alfredo Catalani’s Edmea (originally performed at La Scala, Milan, on February 27, 1886). This began a lifelong friendship with Catalani, and Toscanini named his first daughter Wally after the heroine of Catalani’s opera La Wally. He also returned to playing the cello and participated in the world premiere of Verdi’s Otello at La Scala, Milan, in 1887, under Verdi’s supervision.

Verdi, who often criticized conductors for not following his scores as written, was impressed by reports from Arrigo Boito about Toscanini’s ability to interpret his music. Verdi was also pleased when Toscanini personally consulted him about Verdi’s Te Deum, suggesting an allargando (a musical marking not included in the score). Verdi explained that he had omitted it out of fear that some conductors might overemphasize it.

Over time, Toscanini’s reputation as a skilled and authoritative operatic conductor grew, surpassing his work as a cellist. In the following decade, he led the world premieres of Puccini’s La bohème and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. In 1896, Toscanini conducted his first symphonic concert in Turin, featuring works by Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner. He worked hard, conducting 43 concerts in Turin in 1898. By 1898, Toscanini became Principal Conductor at La Scala, where he stayed until 1908, returning as Music Director from 1921 to 1929. In December 1920, he brought the La Scala Orchestra to the United States for a concert tour, during which he made his first recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey.

In 1908, Toscanini joined the Metropolitan Opera in New York alongside Giulio Gatti-Casazza, who had left La Scala to become the Met’s general manager. During Toscanini’s seven seasons at the Met (1908–1915), he introduced reforms and set standards in opera production and performance that are still used today. At the end of his final season in May 1915, Toscanini planned to return to Europe on the doomed RMS Lusitania, but he left a week early on the Italian liner Duca degli Abruzzi. Toscanini conducted the New York Philharmonic from 1926 until 1936, touring Europe with the orchestra in 1930. His performances were praised by critics and audiences. He was the first non-German conductor to appear at Bayreuth (1930–1931), and the New York Philharmonic was the first non-German orchestra to perform there.

In the 1930s, Toscanini conducted at the Salzburg Festival (1934–1937) and led the 1936 inaugural concert of the Palestine Orchestra (later renamed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra) in Tel Aviv. He later conducted the orchestra in Jerusalem, Haifa, Cairo, and Alexandria. During his time with the New York Philharmonic, his concertmaster was Hans Lange, the son of the last Master of the Sultan’s Music in Istanbul. Later, Lange became conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and founded the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

As an opera conductor, Toscanini worked with artists such as Enrico Caruso, Feodor Chaliapin, Ezio Pinza, Giovanni Martinelli, Geraldine Farrar, and Aureliano Pertile.

In 1919, Toscanini ran unsuccessfully for a minor municipal office in Milan on the Fascist ticket. At that time, the Fascist Party was not openly authoritarian. He was called “the greatest conductor in the world” by Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. However, Toscanini had already grown disillusioned with Fascism before the October 1922 March on Rome and repeatedly refused to support

Personal life

Toscanini married Carla De Martini on June 21, 1897. Carla was less than 20 years old at the time. Their first child, Walter, was born on March 19, 1898. A daughter, Wally, was born on January 16, 1900. Carla gave birth to a son, Giorgio, in September 1901. Giorgio died of diphtheria on June 10, 1906, in Buenos Aires. Later that same year, Carla gave birth to their second daughter, Wanda.

Toscanini worked with many famous singers and musicians during his career. Few impressed him as much as pianist Vladimir Horowitz. They performed and recorded together several times. These recordings included Brahms' second piano concerto and Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto with the NBC Symphony for RCA Victor. Horowitz became close to Toscanini and his family. In 1933, Wanda Toscanini married Horowitz with Toscanini’s approval and warnings. They remained married until Vladimir Horowitz’s death in 1989. Wanda’s daughter, Sonia, was photographed by Life magazine playing with the conductor.

During World War II, Toscanini lived in Wave Hill, a historic home in Riverdale.

Although letters written by Toscanini, which were studied by Harvey Sachs, showed reports of infidelities (most notably with soprano Geraldine Farrar), he remained married to Carla until her death on June 23, 1951. After Carla’s death, Toscanini remained widowed for the rest of his life.

Innovations

At La Scala, a famous opera house, the most modern stage lighting system was installed in 1901, and an orchestral pit was added in 1907. Toscanini made changes to how operas were performed. He required that the lights in the audience area be turned down during shows. His biographer, Harvey Sachs, explained: "He believed that a performance could only be successful if all parts of the production—singers, orchestra, chorus, staging, sets, and costumes—worked together with the same goal."

Toscanini preferred a traditional way of arranging the orchestra. In this setup, the first violins and cellos were placed on the left side, the violas on the near right, and the second violins on the far right.

Premieres

Toscanini led the first performances of many operas, four of which are now commonly performed: Pagliacci, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, and Turandot. He also helped complete Turandot by Alfano after Puccini's death. He led the first performances in Italy of Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Salome, Pelléas et Mélisande, and Euryanthe. He also led the first performances in South America of Tristan und Isolde and Madama Butterfly, and the first performances in North America of Boris Godunov and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7. He also led the first performance of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings.

• Edmea (revised version) by Alfredo Catalani – Turin, November 4, 1886
• Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo – Milan, May 21, 1892
• Guglielmo Swarten by Gnaga – Rome, November 15, 1892
• Savitri by Natale Canti – Bologna, December 1, 1894
• Emma Liona by Antonio Lozzi – Venice, May 24, 1895
• La bohème by Giacomo Puccini – Turin, February 1, 1896
• Forza d'Amore by Arturo Buzzi-Peccia – Turin, March 6, 1897
• La Camargo by Enrico De Leva – Turin, March 2, 1898
• Anton by Cesare Galeotii – Milan, December 17, 1900
• Zaza by Leoncavallo – Milan, November 10, 1900
• Le Maschere by Pietro Mascagni – Milan, January 17, 1901
• Mosè by Don Lorenzo Perosi – Milan, November 16, 1901
• Germania by Alberto Franchetti – Milan, March 11, 1902
• Oceana by Antonio Smareglia – Milan, January 22, 1903
• Cassandra by Vittorio Gnecchi – Bologna, December 5, 1905
• Gloria by Francesco Cilea – Milan, April 15, 1907
• La fanciulla del West by Puccini – New York, December 10, 1910
• Madame Sans-Gène by Umberto Giordano – New York, January 25, 1915
• Debora e Jaele by Ildebrando Pizzetti – Milan, December 16, 1922
• Nerone by Arrigo Boito (completed by Toscanini and Vincenzo Tommasini) – Milan, May 1, 1924
• La Cena delle Beffe by Giordano – Milan, December 20, 1924
• I Cavalieri di Ekebu by Riccardo Zandonai – Milan, March 7, 1925
• Turandot by Puccini – Milan, April 25, 1926 (Note: Toscanini informed the audience that the opera was incomplete due to Puccini's death.)
• Fra Gherado by Pizzetti – Milan, May 16, 1928
• Il re by Giordano – Milan, January 12, 1929

• Adagio for Strings and First Essay for Orchestra by Samuel Barber – NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, November 5, 1938
• Overture to Aida by Giuseppe Verdi with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, March 30, 1940
• Western Suite by Elie Siegmeister – NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, November 1945

Recorded legacy

Arturo Toscanini made his first recordings in December 1920 with the La Scala Orchestra in the Trinity Church studio of the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey. His last recordings were made in June 1954 with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. All of his commercial recordings were released by RCA Victor, except for two recordings made in 1926 for Brunswick with the New York Philharmonic and a series of recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1939 for EMI's His Master's Voice label. These BBC recordings were also available in the United States through RCA Victor, EMI's American partner. Toscanini also conducted the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall for RCA Victor in several recordings in 1929 and 1936. In 1941–1942, a series of recordings with Toscanini conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra were made for RCA Victor in the Philadelphia Academy of Music. These recordings were not released at first because of technical issues. All of Toscanini's RCA Victor and EMI recordings have been digitally remastered and released on compact disc. There are also recordings of concerts with various European orchestras, especially with La Scala Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. In 2012, RCA Red Seal released a new 84-CD boxed set with all of Toscanini's RCA Victor recordings and EMI recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, EMI Classics released a 6-CD set with all of Toscanini's EMI recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Toscanini disliked making recordings, especially the old acoustic method, and recorded only sometimes for several years. He was 53 years old and had been a conductor for 34 years when he made his first recordings in 1920. He began recording regularly in 1938, after becoming conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra at age 70. As recording technology improved, Toscanini became less interested in making records and more focused on preserving his performances for future generations. Most of his recordings were made with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and cover much of his musical repertoire. These recordings document the final part of his 68-year conducting career.

Toscanini was especially famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Debussy, and his own countrymen Rossini, Verdi, Boito, and Puccini. He made many recordings, especially toward the end of his career, most of which are still available for purchase. In addition, recordings of his broadcast performances and rehearsals with the NBC Symphony Orchestra are also available.

Charles O'Connell, who produced many of Toscanini's early NBC Symphony recordings, said that RCA Victor decided to record the orchestra in Carnegie Hall after many customers complained about the poor sound of earlier recordings made in Studio 8-H in 1938 and 1939. However, some recording sessions continued in Studio 8-H as late as June 1950, likely because of changes to the studio starting in 1939, including the installation of an acoustical shell in 1941 at the request of Leopold Stokowski before he temporarily replaced Toscanini as principal conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. O'Connell and others often said Toscanini was not interested in the details of recorded sound. Harvey Sachs wrote that Toscanini was often disappointed that microphones did not capture all the sounds he heard as he led the orchestra. O'Connell even said Toscanini did not cooperate with him during the sessions. Toscanini was also disappointed that 78-rpm discs did not fully capture the sounds of the orchestra or changed them so much they became hard to recognize. People who attended Toscanini's concerts later said the NBC string section was especially outstanding.

O'Connell also documented RCA's technical problems with the recordings made by Toscanini and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1941–1942. These recordings needed a lot of editing before they could be released, which happened after Toscanini's death, beginning in 1963, with the rest following in 1977. Harvey Sachs wrote that the wax masters used for the recordings were damaged during processing, possibly because of lower-quality materials required during wartime. Toscanini listened to several test pressings and approved some recordings, rejected others, and was ready to re-record the unsatisfactory parts. Unfortunately, the 1942–1944 Petrillo / AFM recording ban prevented immediate retakes. By the time the ban ended, the Philadelphia Orchestra's contract with RCA Victor had expired, and the orchestra had signed with Columbia Records. RCA Victor then hesitated to promote the orchestra and recordings, as Columbia was a competitor. RCA Victor declared the defective Philadelphia masters unsalvageable. When told that RCA had decided to abandon the Philadelphia recordings, Toscanini strongly said, "I worked like a dog!" The conductor eventually recorded all of the same music with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The Schubert Symphony in C-M

Television

Arturo Toscanini was one of the first conductors to appear on live television for long periods. From 1948 to 1952, he conducted ten concerts that were broadcast on NBC. These included a two-part performance of Verdi's full opera Aida, featuring Herva Nelli and Richard Tucker, and the first complete broadcast of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. All these concerts were also broadcast at the same time on radio. Each concert was shown only once during those four years, but they were saved on kinescopes.

The first telecast began on March 20, 1948, with a program of music by Wagner. It included the Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin, the overture and bacchanale from Tannhäuser, "Forest Murmurs" from Siegfried, "Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey" from Götterdämmerung, and "The Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre. On the same day, conductor Eugene Ormandy made his live television debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. They performed Weber's overture to Der Freischutz and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1, which had recently been rediscovered. Ormandy's concert was broadcast by CBS, but the schedules were arranged so the two programs would not overlap.

Less than a month after Toscanini's first televised concert, a full performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was broadcast on April 3, 1948. On November 13, 1948, there was a program of music by Brahms, including the Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra in A minor (performed by Mischa Mischakoff and Frank Miller), Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op. 52 (with two pianists and a small chorus), and Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor. On December 3, 1948, Toscanini conducted Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Dvořák's Symphonic Variations, and Wagner's original overture to Tannhäuser.

In 1949, there were two Toscanini telecasts, both featuring a concert performance of Verdi's Aida from Studio 8H. Acts I and II were broadcast on March 26, and Acts III and IV on April 2. Some parts of the audio were rerecorded in 1954 for a commercial release on LP records. The video shows the soloists standing close to Toscanini, in front of the orchestra, while members of the Robert Shaw Chorale, wearing robes, were positioned on risers behind the orchestra.

There were no Toscanini telecasts in 1950, but he returned in 1951, starting on November 3 with Weber's overture to Euryanthe and Brahms' Symphony No. 1. On December 29, 1951, there was another all-Wagner program, including excerpts from Siegfried and Die Walküre that had been broadcast earlier, plus the Prelude to Act II of Lohengrin, the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, and "Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music" from Götterdämmerung.

On March 15, 1952, Toscanini conducted the Symphonic Interlude from Franck's Rédemption, Sibelius' En saga, Debussy's "Nuages" and "Fêtes" from Nocturnes, and the overture to Rossini's William Tell. His final live telecast, on March 22, 1952, included Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Respighi's Pines of Rome.

NBC cameras often focused on Toscanini for long periods, showing his baton techniques and his deep connection to the music. After finishing a piece, he usually nodded instead of bowing and left the stage quickly. Although NBC continued to broadcast the orchestra on radio until April 1954, television broadcasts ended in March 1952.

As part of a restoration project started by the Toscanini family in the late 1980s, the kinescopes were fully restored and released by RCA on VHS and laser disc in 1989. The audio was taken from 33-1/3 rpm 16-inch transcription discs and high-fidelity audio tape recordings made during the concerts, not from the kinescopes themselves. The high-quality audio was synchronized with the kinescope video for home video releases. Original introductions by NBC announcer Ben Grauer were replaced with new commentary by Martin Bookspan. The complete collection of Toscanini videos has since been reissued by Testament on DVD, with further improvements to the sound.

Film

In December 1943, Toscanini appeared in a 31-minute film titled Hymn of the Nations, produced by the United States Office of War Information and directed by Alexander Hammid. Most of the film was shot at NBC's Studio 8-H. The film, narrated by Burgess Meredith, shows Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Verdi's overture to La forza del destino and Inno delle nazioni (Hymn of the Nations), a cantata that includes the national anthems of England, France, and Italy. Toscanini added arrangements of the Soviet "Internationale" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" to the cantata. Tenor Jan Peerce and the Westminster Choir performed in the latter work.

The film was released on DVD by RCA/BMG in 2004. The "Internationale" was removed from the 1943 film after its initial release, but the full version of Hymn of the Nations, including the "Internationale," is available on all RCA LP and CD recordings of the cantata. Hymn of the Nations was nominated for a 1944 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Toscanini: The Maestro is a 1985 documentary made for cable television. It was first shown on Bravo and later on PBS in 1988. The film includes archival footage of Toscanini and interviews with musicians who worked with him. It was released on VHS and included on the same 2004 DVD as Hymn of the Nations.

Toscanini is the subject of the fictional film Il giovane Toscanini (Young Toscanini) from 1988, starring C. Thomas Howell and Elizabeth Taylor, and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film received poor reviews and was not officially released in the United States. It tells a fictional story about events leading up to Toscanini's conducting debut in Rio de Janeiro in 1886. While most of the plot is not true, the actual events surrounding his unexpected debut are based on fact.

John Kavanagh plays Toscanini in a short scene in the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins. Toscanini was also portrayed by Barry Jackson in the 2008 dramatized documentary Toscanini: In His Own Words.

Acclaim and criticism

Throughout his career, Toscanini was highly respected by critics, fellow musicians, and the public. He received steady praise from critics during his lifetime, a rare achievement for a musician. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine three times, in 1926, 1934, and 1948. He is the only conductor in Time’s history to be honored this way. On March 25, 1989, the United States Postal Service released a 25-cent stamp in his honor. Some critics, like Peter Gutmann, later questioned much of the praise given to Toscanini during his lifetime, calling it overly positive. However, composers and others who worked with him, such as Aaron Copland, acknowledged his talent.

In recent years, some critics have questioned Toscanini’s legacy. They argue that his focus on older European music, along with RCA’s promotion of him as the greatest conductor, may have harmed American music. Critics like Harvey Sachs, Mortimer Frank, and B. H. Haggin suggest this focus on his legacy, rather than his conducting, led to these views. Frank, in his book Toscanini: The NBC Years, strongly disagrees with these critics and points to Joseph Horowitz as one of the most extreme. Frank believes these newer critics have unfairly influenced younger listeners, causing Toscanini’s reputation to decline after his death. Horowitz, however, argues that those who praise Toscanini are part of a “Toscanini cult,” a view Frank does not fully agree with.

Some critics, like Virgil Thomson, criticized Toscanini for not performing enough modern music, such as works by 20th-century composers. Thomson, a modern composer himself, may have felt ignored by Toscanini, who disliked much modern music. During Toscanini’s career, composers like Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy, whose works he admired, were seen as modern and radical. Toscanini performed works by Zoltán Kodály and requested him to compose a symphony dedicated to him. He also performed pieces by Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, and George Gershwin, though some critics said his performances of Gershwin’s works lacked enough jazz style.

Another criticism of Toscanini’s recordings is their limited sound quality, especially those made in NBC’s Studio 8-H. The studio was designed for radio and television, not concerts, and had dry acoustics that made it hard to hear music clearly. Toscanini preferred this studio because it allowed listeners to hear every instrument clearly, which he believed was important.

Toscanini was also criticized for his very strict rhythm in performances, which some called too rigid. He was known to be angry during rehearsals, especially later in life. For example, during a rehearsal for La Traviata, he yelled at the double bass players when they were not playing together.

A song titled “(If You Can’t Sing It) You’ll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)” is a humorous take on Toscanini.

Legacy

In 1939, a school in New York was set up in honor of Toscanini.

Starting in 1963, NBC Radio began broadcasting a weekly program called Toscanini: The Man Behind The Legend. This series honored Toscanini’s time with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The program was hosted by Ben Grauer, an NBC announcer who had also worked on many of Toscanini’s original broadcasts. It included interviews with members of Toscanini’s family, musicians from the NBC Symphony, David Sarnoff, and classical musicians who had worked with Toscanini, such as Giovanni Martinelli. The show highlighted some or all of Toscanini’s recordings. The program ran for at least three years and did not include commentary that questions Toscanini’s legacy, which is common in magazines today, such as American Record Guide. The series was later rebroadcast by PBS radio in the late 1970s.

In 1986, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts acquired most of Toscanini’s papers, music scores, and sound recordings from his family. This collection, named The Toscanini Legacy, includes thousands of letters, programs, and documents, over 1,800 scores, and more than 400 hours of sound recordings. A guide to the scores and sound recordings is available on the library’s website. Additional guides are available for other parts of the collection.

The library also holds other collections that include materials related to Toscanini, such as the Bruno Walter papers, the Fiorello H. La Guardia papers, and a collection of materials from Rose Bampton.

The Maestro Revisited

In 1967, The Bell Telephone Hour broadcast a program called Toscanini: The Maestro Revisited. The program was written and narrated by Harold C. Schonberg, a music critic from The New York Times. It included commentary from conductors Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, Erich Leinsdorf, and Milton Katims, who had played the viola in the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The program also showed clips from two of Toscanini's television concerts, which were recorded before they were remastered for video and DVD.

Quotations

• German composer Richard Strauss faced controversy over his political views during World War II. One person said, "I respect Richard Strauss as a composer, but I disagree with him as a person."
• Richard Strauss once said, "The choices I have made in life always show what I believe."
• He also said, "In daily life, be fair and equal, but in art, aim for excellence."
• About the first movement of the Eroica symphony, he stated, "Some people think it represents famous leaders like Napoleon, Hitler, or Mussolini. For me, it is simply a lively and spirited piece."
• When the opera Turandot was left unfinished by Puccini, the conductor Toscanini said, "Here, Death has defeated art." After saying this, Toscanini left the stage, the lights turned on, and the audience silently left the theater.
• In 1940, while in California, Toscanini visited a movie set at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. He said with tears in his eyes, "I will always remember three things: the sunset, the Grand Canyon, and the dancing of Eleanor Powell."