Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony No.101 in D major, The Clock (1793—94) [26:40]
Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Pini di Roma — symphonic poem (1924) [20:35]
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Lemminkäinen Suite Op.22 — The Swan of Tuonela (1893 rev. 1897, 1900) [9:47]
Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Götterdämmerung, Act III; Siegfried’s Funeral Music (1876) [12:55]
Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826)
Euryanthe; overture J.291 (1823) [8:38]
New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini
rec. 13 November 1945, Carnegie Hall, NYC, Benefit Pension Fund concert
GUILD GHCD 2368 [78:32] 
Though this question is often raised when discussing Toscanini’s recordings,
it’s worth a brief moment to consider it in the context of this concert. It
relates specifically to the superiority, or otherwise, of Toscanini’s performances
with the NBC vis-a-vis the New York Philharmonic-Symphony orchestras. The
consensus is that the sonic disadvantage of Studio 8-H and the leaner string
tone of the NBC puts that body of recordings at a disadvantage when set against,
say, the Carnegie Hall and the NYPSO. It is certainly pertinent to cite the
pre-war recordings, live and off-air, that preserved the conductor’s partnership
with the BBC Symphony in London, where a similar combination of a superior
location in Queen’s Hall and a superior body of tone from the BBC strings,
leads to a greater sense of rhythmic relaxation. And this November 1945 Pension
Fund benefit concert, live in Carnegie Hall, reinforces the view that a congenial
acoustic, coupled with a responsively firm body of strings and eloquent wind
and brass principals, encouraged Toscanini toward a slightly more affectionate
address than with the NBC.
The Haydn symphony he performed was something of a talisman. It was the first
Haydn symphony he ever conducted, back in 1896, at the very start of his career
on the rostrum. It was in his first NYPSO concert in 1929, the year in which
he first recorded it (he did it twice in the studio) and the only Haydn symphony
he took on tour with his orchestra. His approach remained very consistent
and the tempi vary very little over two decades. We find in this concert performance
a vital, imaginative and highly attractive reading. Interestingly it’s not
over-vibrated by the strings, though they could have done had they wanted
– and the Presto, after the opening slow introduction, is articulated very
deftly. The flute lines come through well, attesting to assured balancing
between the winds and the strings – especially true of the lower string line
which is well articulated but not too forceful. Altogether this is a well
textured and highly convincing performance, worthy of the conductor at his
finest.
Again his Respighi Pines of Rome proves the superior of the NBC version
in 1953. There is greater colour, and texture and also flexibility. Richer
tone accounts for some of this, but the glittering characterisation of the
first, the Pines of the Villa Borghese, attests to a more immediate rapport
between the conductor and his old orchestra. The clarinet principal shines
in the third panel whilst the finale is a blazing affair, inciting frenzied
applause. But there is also atmosphere in this concert, and that comes via
Sibelius, whose Swan of Tuonela receives a sensitively phrased and
perceptive reading, surely the best of Toscanini’s performances of it. There
are numerous examples of his Wagner chunks, and this commanding Götterdämmerung
is about as good as it gets. To end with Weber’s overture to Euryanthe
is to send people home in high spirits – a brightly and engaging animated
reading.
The musical virtues of this disc are manifold, and even those jaded by the
Toscanini Question will find much to enjoy here.
Jonathan Woolf
The musical virtues of this disc are manifold, and even those jaded by the
Toscanini Question will find much to enjoy here.