{"product_id":"toscanini-conducts-contemporary-russian-music-1939-47-pasc548","title":"TOSCANINI conducts Contemporary Russian Music (1939-47) - PASC548","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePROKOFIEV \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 1, 'Classical'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSHOSTAKOVICH \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eKABALEVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eKABALEVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eOverture to Colas Breugnon\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast recordings, 1939-47\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 74:56\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eArturo Toscanini\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare magazine review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fThe NBC Symphony’s cracking playing make the best possible case for Kabalevsky’s gloriously unsubtle melodrama578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIt’s odd to imagine Prokofiev’s “Classical”\nSymphony ever having been “contemporary” music, but it had just passed\n30 years of age when Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in\nthe broadcast performance featured on Pristine Audio’s collection of\nthree Russian symphonies of the 20th century. This very rapid rendition,\nlasting a little over 13 minutes, was taped on November 15, 1947, but\nit’s a mark of the virtuosic playing and Toscanini’s control of quick\ntempo that it rarely seems hurried; only the lightning-quick first\nmovement has the feel of many bows and fingers straining to keep\ntogether. Pristine’s transfer of the broadcast sounds much fresher than\nthat included in the Music \u0026amp; Arts set \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eToscanini Conducts Music From Russia\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e (MACD1115). \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eAccording to the booklet notes, Toscanini felt\nlittle affinity for Shostakovich’s music—“all dissonances,” he’s quoted\nas complaining—and if we’re to accept the version of the long-distance\nmusical relationship related in the disputed Shostakovich memoir, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eTestimony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e,\nthe composer felt little love for the performances of his occasional\ninterpreter. Toscanini lives on in the Shostakovich record books as the\nfirst conductor to perform the “Leningrad” Symphony in the United\nStates, in 1942 (though not, as claimed in the present disc’s booklet\nnote, the world premiere), but this rendition of the First Symphony was\ntaped January 14, 1939. This is, then, one of the earliest performances\nof a Shostakovich symphony on disc, and it’s painted in primary colors,\nemerging very vividly and pretty forcefully through the pre-war\nrecording. It’s very fast where you’d normally expect the music to be\nfairly fast; certainly, far more aggressively driven we than ever hear\nthis music in performances today. Really, the first movement’s genial\nsecond subject is the only moment of space and light in a particularly\nvigorous reading, and if \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eTestimony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e really is to be believed, I can imagine the composer finding it all pretty short of lightness and wit. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eKabalevsky’s Second Symphony of 1934 is the real\nrarity here, and Toscanini’s direct and intense approach, heard here in a\nbroadcast from November 8, 1942, makes it a really enjoyable one.\nKabalevsky does, admittedly, paint in the bright and uncomplicated\ncolors of the propaganda poster, but he’s a composer of enough ability\nto do it convincingly. Where the Toscanini drive was just too much in\nthe Shostakovich, it’s positively a virtue here, and the NBC Symphony’s\ncracking playing make the best possible case for Kabalevsky’s gloriously\nunsubtle melodrama. Kabalevsky’s more familiar \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eColas Breugnon\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e Overture, taped on April 11, 1943, is the witty bonus at the disc’s end. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIt all sounds brilliant in Andrew Rose’s\ntransfers. The original spoken radio instructions have been retained,\nwhich is a quaint touch, and the booklet notes provide a brief but\ndetailed guide (Leningrad-slip notwithstanding) to Toscanini’s work with\nthe three featured composers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003eAndrew Morris \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"dateBlockDiv\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 42:6 (July\/Aug 2019) of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e Magazine.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC548.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\nIt is easy to forget, since Toscanini lived so long and the bulk of his\nrecordings came towards the end of his career, that he knew or corresponded\nwith a vast number of composers, and that he went out of his way to program\ntheir compositions in his concerts. In his youth the music of Tchaikovsky,\nBrahms, and even Wagner was relatively new. He knew Verdi, Puccini and\nMascagni personally and was happy to perform numerous works by both\nwell-known and more obscure American composers [see PASC495 and PASC497].\nHis relationship with contemporary Russian composers was complicated. He\nwas in personal touch with all three composers represented here, and they\njoined together in wishing Toscanini a happy 80\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e birthday in\n1947. All of them would have been glad to receive the musical blessing,\nbestowed by his conducting their works, of the man widely considered to be\nthe greatest living conductor. But while he was clearly willing to perform\nmodern Russian works, he did not embrace them wholeheartedly.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nProkofiev composed his ‘Classical Symphony’ in 1916. Perhaps the more\ntraditional form and tonality appealed to Toscanini, compared to\nProkofiev’s later works, as it was the only composition of his that\nToscanini ever conducted – three performances with the New York\nPhilharmonic in 1929, and five with the NBCSO in 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947 and\n1951. He also recorded the work commercially for RCA in 1951.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nToscanini conducted just two of Shostakovich’s symphonies, the 1 \u003csup\u003est\u003c\/sup\u003e and the 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e. Of those the 7\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e was\nperformed only four times (the world premiere with the NBCSO followed by\nthree further performances with the New York Philharmonic, all in 1942).\nToscanini conducted the 1\u003csup\u003est\u003c\/sup\u003e symphony at least ten times with\nfour different orchestras - the NY Philharmonic (1931), the Vienna Symphony\nOrchestra (1939), the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1937), the La Scala Orchestra\n(1946) and the NBCSO (1939 and 1944). Toscanini’s biographer, Harvey Sachs,\ndescribes him as ‘curious’ about Shostakovich’s music. However Toscanini\nalso described Shostakovich as ‘all dissonances’ and that perhaps explains\nhis unwillingness to conduct more popular works such as the 5\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e\nsymphony.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nKabalevsky’s 2\u003csup\u003end\u003c\/sup\u003e symphony was programmed twice by Toscanini, in\n1942 and 1945, both with the NBCSO. This 1942 American premiere ‘made an\nexcellent impression’ according to the New York Times, as authentically\nfresh work by a ‘sincere and accomplished Russian composer’. Kabalevsky’s\nColas Breugnon Overture, composed in 1936, was performed on numerous\noccasions by Toscanini and the NBCSO, and a commercial recording was made\nfor RCA in 1946. The 1943 broadcast presented here was the piece’s American\npremiere.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eTOSCANINI conducts Contemporary Russian Music\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePROKOFIEV  \u003c\/b\u003eSymphony No. 1 in D major, 'Classical', Op. 25\u003cbr\u003e1. Introduction  (0:13)\u003cbr\u003e2. 1st mvt. - Allegro  (3:37)\u003cbr\u003e3. 2nd mvt. - Larghetto  (3:31)\u003cbr\u003e4. 3rd mvt. - Gavotte. Non troppo allegro  (1:27)\u003cbr\u003e5. 4th mvt. - Fonale. Molto vivace  (4:47)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHOSTAKOVICH  \u003c\/b\u003eSymphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10\u003cbr\u003e6. Introduction  (0:28)\u003cbr\u003e7. 1st mvt. - Allegretto - Allegro non troppo  (7:52)\u003cbr\u003e8. 2nd mvt. - Allegro  (4:54)\u003cbr\u003e9. 3rd mvt. - Lento  (8:46)\u003cbr\u003e10. 4th mvt. - Allegro molto - Lento - Allegro molto  (10:02)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKABALEVSKY  \u003c\/b\u003eSymphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18\u003cbr\u003e11. Introduction  (0:51)\u003cbr\u003e12. 1st mvt. - Allegro quasi presto  (7:05)\u003cbr\u003e13. 2nd mvt. - Andante non troppo  (9:28)\u003cbr\u003e 14. 3rd mvt. - Prestissimo scherzando  (6:48)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e15. \u003cb\u003eKABALEVSKY\u003c\/b\u003e  Overture to Colas Breugnon  (5:07)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eArturo Toscanini\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Toscanini\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProkofiev Symphony 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast 15 November 1947\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eShostakovich Symphony 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast 14 January 1939\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKabalevsky Symphony 2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast 8 November 1942\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKabalevsky Overture\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast 11 April 1943\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast from NBC Studio 8H\u003cbr\u003eRadio City, New York\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration:  74:56  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC548.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC548.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932341948755,"sku":"fgc1789302437469","price":14.48,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932341981523,"sku":"ndj1789302437470","price":9.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932342014291,"sku":"hgv1789302437471","price":6.68,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/toscanini-conducts-contemporary-russian-music-1939-47---pasc548_1.jpg?v=1789302444","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/toscanini-conducts-contemporary-russian-music-1939-47-pasc548","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}