{"product_id":"toscanini-the-1939-beethoven-cycle-volume-1-1939-pasc552","title":"TOSCANINI The 1939 Beethoven Cycle, Volume 1 (1939) - PASC552","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFidelio Overture\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \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;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 3 'Eroica'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast recording, 1939\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 79:00\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;\"\u003e Arturo Toscanini\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eGet 6 Boxed CDs for the price of 5 when you buy the full Digipack printed CD set\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC552.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003eOn 28 October 1939, Arturo Toscanini took to the podium with his NBC Symphony Orchestra to begin what would be a unique series of six concerts: his only recorded Beethoven integral symphony cycle. Over six weekly concert broadcasts Toscanini would conduct all nine symphonies, roughly in order, together with various overtures, excerpts and other works, most interestingly the Choral Fantasy, Op. 80. This was coupled with the Ninth \"Choral\" Symphony in a special broadcast live from Carnegie Hall (the other concerts took place in his more usual radio studio venue), and constitutes the only recorded example of him conducting this work ever. Mortimer H. Frank suggests that Toscanini considered conducting the work again in 1952 in London but dropped the idea - he also suggests this may have been the only time Toscanini ever conducted the Choral Fantasy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs with our recent issues of Toscanini conducting Russian music (PASC548) and the music of Richard Strauss (PASC549), I have been able to access source recordings of unprecedented quality, taken from acetate discs recorded directly by NBC and almost certainly not played since. For optimal sound quality this is crucial - the delicate surfaces of these discs are prone to immediate deterioration when played, especially when the weighty pick-ups in common use in the 1940s were used, resulting in distortion, higher background noise, and potential loss of high frequencies and other details. Previous issues have relied on Toscanini's own copies, discs which have seen considerable wear and use over the years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe use of these new source discs translates directly into remarkable audio quality, with quiet backgrounds and a particularly wide frequency range - and sound quality that would have been considered excellent on a hi-fi era LP record from twenty or more years later. The use of the latest audio restoration technology brings with it rock-solid pitching, excellent tonal balance, and a clean, clear sound quality throughout. Small details shine through, with exquisite tonal shading that may previously have been overlooked can now clearly audible - take a listen to our example above and the subtle shading of the trumpets for the chords at 2:17, for example.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach of the concert broadcasts ran for longer than was usual, and it has been necessary to trim some of the commentary from these recordings in order to fit each one onto a single CD release without cutting any of the music. The amount of speech editing will vary from release to release, but the intention is to preserve as much as possible the occasion as heard some 80 years ago - this is, we believe, the first time they have been presented as broadcast in this manner. Certainly they have never sounded as fresh and fine as this before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_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\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003eTOSCANINI The 1939 Beethoven Cycle, Volume 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. RADIO Opening announcement  (0:33)\u003cbr\u003e2. \u003cb\u003eBEETHOVEN  Fidelio, Op. 72 - Overture\u003c\/b\u003e  (7:19)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBEETHOVEN  Symphony No. 1\u003c\/b\u003e in C, Op. 21\u003cbr\u003e3. 1st mvt. - Adagio molto – Allegro con brio  (8:04)\u003cbr\u003e4. 2nd mvt. - Andante cantabile con moto  (6:20)\u003cbr\u003e5. 3rd mvt. - Minuet. Allegro molto e vivace - Trio  (3:14)\u003cbr\u003e6. 4th mvt. - Finale. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace  (5:38)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7. RADIO Midway announcements  (1:05)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBEETHOVEN  Symphony No. 3\u003c\/b\u003e in E flat, Op. 55 \"Eroica\"\u003cbr\u003e8. 1st mvt. - Allegro con brio  (13:50)\u003cbr\u003e9. 2nd mvt. - Marcia funebre. Adagio assai  (16:21)\u003cbr\u003e10. 3rd mvt. - Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio  (5:24)\u003cbr\u003e11. 4th mvt. - Finale. Allegro molto  (10:36)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e12. RADIO Closing announcement  (0:36)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003econducted \u003cb\u003eby Arturo Toscanini\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Toscanini\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast of 28 October, 1939\u003cbr\u003eNBC Studio 8H, Radio City, New York\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration:  79:00\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\/PASC552.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC552.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fNew York Times Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_title\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003eTOSCANINI BEGINS BEETHOVEN CYCLE\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_title\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 20px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle_list\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHe Leads the NBC Orchestra\nHere in the Initial Concert of Six-Week Festival \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e'FIDELIO' OVERTURE\nHEARD \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"index_article_subtitle\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eFirst Symphony in C Major and the 'Eroica' Are Also Presented at\nRecital \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMr. Toscanini conducted the first program of the \"Beethoven Festival\" of\nthe NBC Symphony Orchestra last night in Radio City. He has seldom given a\nmore impressive demonstration of his capacity to make very familiar music\nfall so freshly and significantly upon the senses and the mind that the\nhearer listens to something he has known from childhood with the emotion of\nunending discovery. We heard three staples of the symphonic repertory: the\noverture to \"Fidelio\"; the First symphony; the \"Eroica\" — these three, and\none would say that within the dimensions of two minor works and one which\nis an ultimate of musical creation — the \"Eroica\" — he had traversed the\nimmensities of art and the whole sublime trajectory of the spirit of\nBeethoven.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe smallest phrase, under such circumstances, communicates the sense of\nthe entire work of which it is an integral part. Because it is ideally\nconveyed, in both its formal and emotional essence, it is hardly less in\nitself than the sum of all. And this holds true, whether the score be that\nof the less pretentious Beethoven, or the utterance of the matchless hero\nwho produced the greatest symphony the world yet has known, the \"Eroica.\"\nEverything in the concert was unforgettable. Everything, in a sense, was\nequal under the eyes of a man who is himself a hero of his art as well as a\ngenius.\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlayed on Italian Model\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAt the same time, the special relation of the “Fidelio\" overture to the\nopera whose name it bears was made clear as seldom before. It was played\nfor just what it is: essentially an eighteenth century overture, on the\nItalian model (though enlarged by Beethoven's quality) and very much\ninfluenced by Cherubini, who, however, wrote some greater overtures on\nthese lines for his own operas. What Mr. Toscanini accomplished was his\ncustomary revelation of musicianship and infallible intuition. He held the\noverture precisely and with an almost magical fidelity to its style and its\nspiritual proportions.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIn so doing he accomplished a hundred felicities of interpretation and\ntechnique. The crescendo soon after the opening was a case in point, The\nwoodwinds were quick to emerge from slight imprecisions of attack which men\non the qui yive at the beginning of a concert, however seasoned, may find\nit hard to avoid; and it may be said here the woodwind section of this\norchestra has developed amazingly in sensitivity as well as precision under\nMr. Toscanini's guidance. The performance, a delight to the ear and\nunderstanding, was an epitome of the workmanship of the piece and the\ninfluence which had gone to its making.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMonument to the Master\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIn the same way, on a grander plane, and of course with much more contrast\nand variety of manner, was interpreted the youthful and wonderful First\nsymphony. Its beauty and concision constitute in themselves a monument to\nthe master who thus approached the task of the Michelangelo of the Nine. It\nis to be suspected that this early Beethoven symphony has a special place\nin Mr. Toscanini's heart. Or was it merely that with the overture it took\nthe proper amount of time, and no more, in a concert that was to unfold the\nimmensities of the \"Eroica\"? At any rate, the performance of the First\nsymphony was now transfired song, and now a piece of both homophonic and\npolyphonic writing as chiselled and aristocratic in its exposition as\nthough we were hearing the finest chamber music.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAll this was well conceived prelude, in Beethoven's lighter vein, to the\ntragic heights of the \"Eroica.\" The symphony said so much partly because\nthe interpreter was as sparing of pseudo-dramatics or ostentatious gesture\nas the creator of the symphony himself. It was properly titanic thinking\nand feeling. If one movement was more eloquent than the others it was the\nfuneral march, which perhaps was inevitable in a performance that so\ncompletely matched the quality of the music. The pace of the march never\nsagged; only in two or three places was there the slight variations of\ntempo, the stress of phrase, which made that accent and fluctuation so much\nmore moving than a succession of such effects would have been.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHarmoniously Planned\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nBut it would be illogical to say that any one part of the \"Eroica\"\ntranscends another part in importance: the structure is too perfectly and\nharmoniously planned for that to be. The first movement is the noblest kind\nof plastic. Then one reflects: perhaps it is the finale which is most\nimmeasurable and mysterious like infinity. What is the strangest and most\npotent passage in symphonic music? Probably the curious reiterated B-flats,\nas fateful as the knocking on the gate in \"Macbeth,\" that set off the\ntheme. Then follow the variations which are as the play of stars and\nplanets!\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nMr. Toscanini drove all that home, so that one was abashed in the presence\nof Beethoven's brooding spirit, and aware of this fateful time in the\nworld, and the immutable eternities. To all of which, thus carved and hewn\nfrom invisibility, the \"Eroica\" seemed the one and only answer.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOlin Downes\u003cbr\u003eNew York Times\u003cbr\u003e29 October 1939\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932343882067,"sku":"pxa1789302451824","price":14.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932343914835,"sku":"fab1789302451825","price":8.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932343947603,"sku":"bfn1789302451826","price":6.37,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/toscanini-the-1939-beethoven-cycle-volume-1-1939---pasc552_1.jpg?v=1789302459","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/toscanini-the-1939-beethoven-cycle-volume-1-1939-pasc552","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}