Arturo Toscanini discography explained

Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century. Toscanini was a prolific recording artist, having conducted many recordings from 1920 until his retirement in 1954.

Toscanini and recording

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 and his last with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in June 1954 in Carnegie Hall. His entire catalog of commercial recordings was issued by RCA Victor, save for two single-sided recordings for Brunswick in 1926 (his first by the electrical process) with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and a series of recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1939 for EMI's His Master's Voice label (Victor's European affiliate). Toscanini also recorded with the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall for RCA Victor in 1929 and 1936. He later made a series of long-unissued recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra for RCA Victor in Philadelphia's Academy of Music in 1941 and 1942. All the commercially issued RCA Victor and HMV recordings have been digitally remastered and reissued on compact disc. There are also recorded concerts with various European orchestras, especially with La Scala Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Toscanini disliked recording, especially the acoustic method, and for several years recorded only sporadically as a result. He was fifty-three years old when he made his first recordings in 1920 and didn't begin regular recording until 1938, after he became conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra at the age of seventy. As the recording process improved, so did Toscanini's negative attitude towards making records and he eventually became more interested in preserving his performances for posterity. The majority of Toscanini's recordings were made with the NBC Symphony, which was created expressly for him. The NBCSO recordings, dating from 1937–1954, cover the bulk of his repertoire and document the final phase of his 68-year conducting career.

From 1990-1992, RCA reissued its entire Toscanini catalogue on compact disc, on the RCA Victor Gold Seal label. This 71-volume issue covered 82 CDs and was remastered, whenever possible, from original sources. Beginning in 1999, RCA reissued several of Toscanini's "high fidelity" recordings, made between 1949 and 1954, in newer remasterings. In 2012, Sony Masterworks, which now owns the RCA Victor archives, issued an 84-CD boxed set of Toscanini's complete RCA Victor recordings and the commercially issued HMV recordings with the BBC Symphony on the RCA Red Seal label. In 2013, EMI Classics issued a 6-CD set containing Toscanini's complete HMV recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.Recorded concerts with various European orchestras, especially with La Scala Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, have been issued on other labels. His retirement coincided with the first commercial stereophonic recordings. Only his final two NBC concerts, on March 21 and April 4, 1954, were recorded in stereo.

Toscanini's first recordings in 1920 were made at the precise midpoint of his conducting career (1886–1954), so they document Toscanini's conducting in the latter half of his career only.

Recording guides

A guide to Toscanini's recording career can be found in Mortimer H. Frank's "From the Pit to the Podium: Toscanini in America" in International Classical Record Collector (1998, 15 8-21) and Christopher Dyment's "Toscanini's European Inheritance" in International Classical Record Collector (1998, 15 22-8). Frank and Dyment also discuss Maestro Toscanini's performance history in the 50th anniversary issue of Classic Record Collector (2006, 47) Frank with 'Toscanini - Myth and Reality' (10-14) and Dyment 'A Whirlwind in London' (15-21) This issue also contains interviews with people who performed with Toscanini - Jon Tolansky 'Licia Albanese - Maestro and Me' (22-6) and 'A Mesmerising Beat: John Tolansky talks to some of those who worked with Arturo Toscanini, to discover some of the secrets of his hold over singers, orchestras and audiences.' (34-7). There is also a feature article on Toscanini's interpretation of Brahms's First Symphony - Norman C. Nelson, 'First Among Equals [...] Toscanini's interpretation of Brahms's First Symphony in the context of others' (28-33)

Mortimer Frank's Arturo Toscanini: The NBC Years (2002) contains an extensive discography as 'Appendix 8'. It is already a little dated, but it is still very useful. In addition to all discs from RCA's Toscanini Collection (Gold Seal) and The Immortal (Red Seal), many important broadcasts issued by Naxos, Music and Arts, Testament and others are also included. Caveat: all releases after 2002 are not included, and there is a fair amount of these; for instance, the five discs box-set with the complete Beethoven symphonies (RCA Red Seal). Also misleading is the listing of some old remasters on the Music and Arts label which are now available in better transfers; for instance, Tchaikovsky Manfred and Romeo and Juliet from March 21, 1953, have been re-issued in 2004 as CD-4260, whereas the book gives only the old edition from 1987 (CD-260).

Albums

The discography below is not comprehensive, but rather representative.[1] The listing only contains Compact Disc releases and does not contain 78rpm, LP, Cassette, or 8-track tape releases. In addition to recordings issued by the RCA label, it includes issues of rehearsals and broadcast performances on other labels.

Title/ProgramCollaboratorsYear(s) of Recording Record label
Toscanini Collection, Volume 71: La Scala Acoustical Recordings
  • Beethoven::
    • Adagio; Allegro molto e vivace (last movement) from Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
    • Allegro (last movement) from Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
  • Berlioz:
    • Rákóczy March
  • Bizet:
    • L' Arlésienne, suite for orchestra No. 2
    • Carmen, Act 4: Entr'acte: Aragonaise
  • Donizetti:
    • Don Pasquale Overture
  • Respighi:
    • Ancient Airs and Dances, Set 1
  • Massenet:
    • Scènes pittoresques
  • Mendelssohn:
    • A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo and Wedding March
  • Mozart:
    • Menuetto and Finale from Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K. 543
  • Pizzetti:
    • La Pisanelle, Prelude to Act I
  • Wolf-Ferrari:
    • Il segreto di Susanna, Overture
La Scala Theatre Orchestra1920–1921
Toscanini Collection, Volume 64: Haydn - Beethoven
  • Haydn:
    • Symphony No. 101 in D major "Clock"
  • Beethoven:
    • Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
  • Mendelssohn:
    • A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.21: Scherzo
New York Philharmonic
Toscanini Collection, Volume 65: Mozart – Brahms – Wagner
  • Mozart:
    • Symphony No. 35 in D major, K 385 "Haffner"
  • Mendelssohn:
    • Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61: Scherzo and Nocturne
  • Brahms:
    • Variations on a theme by Haydn, Op. 56a

Wagner:

    • Siegfried Idyll
  • Dukas:
    • The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
New York Philharmonic
Toscanini Collection, Volume 66: Overtures & Preludes
  • Gluck:
    • Orfeo ed Euridice: Dance of the Blessed Spirits
  • Verdi:
    • La traviata: Preludes to acts 1 and 3
  • Wagner:
    • Götterdämmerung: Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey
    • Lohengrin: Preludes to acts 1 and 3
  • Rossini:
    • Il barbiere di Siviglia: Overture
    • L'italiana in Algeri: Overture
    • Semiramide: Overture
New York Philharmonic
Complete Philadelphia Orchestra Recordings (3-CD set)
  • Schubert:
    • Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944 "Great”
  • Richard Strauss:
    • Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
  • Debussy:
    • La mer
    • Images for Orchestra: No. 2, Ibéria
  • Resphigi:
    • Roman Festivals
  • Berlioz:
    • Roméo and Juliet, Op. 17: Queen Mab Scherzo
  • Tchaikovsky:
    • Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique”
  • Mendelssohn:
    • Midsummer Night's Dream: Excerpts*
Philadelphia Orchestra 1941–1942
Beethoven: 9 Symphonies (5-CD set)
  • Beethoven:
    • Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
    • Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
    • Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 "Eroica"
    • Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60
    • Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
    • Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 "Pastoral"
    • Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
    • Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
    • Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral"*
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1949-53 (all broadcasts, except Nos. 1, 2, 8, and 9: studio)RCA Red Seal 82876 55702 (the same remasters as in The Immortal, Vols. I-III, which also includes a 1953 studio recording of Missa Solemnis)
Italian Orchestral Music (2-CD set)
  • Respighi:
    • Pines of Rome
    • Fountains of Rome
    • Roman Festivals
  • Catalani:
    • Loreley: Dance of the water nymphs
    • La Wally: Act 4 Prelude
  • Donizetti:
    • Don Pasquale: Overture
  • Verdi:
    • La forza del destino: Overture
  • Ponchielli
    • La Gioconda: Dance of the Hours
  • Rossini:
    • L'italiana in Algeri: Overture
    • Semiramide: Overture
    • Guillaume Tell: Overture
NBC Symphony Orchestra1949–1953 (all studio)RCA Red Seal 74321 72374 (The Immortal, Vol. X)
Verdi & Cherubini: Choral Works (2-CD set)
  • Verdi:
    • Requiem*
    • Quattro pezzi sacri: Te Deum
  • Cherubini:
    • Requiem in C minor
NBC Symphony OrchestraRobert Shaw Chorale 1951–1954 (broadcasts, plus many patches from rehearsals for Verdi's Requiem)RCA Red Seal 74321 72373 (The Immortal, Vol. XI)
Schubert & Mendelssohn: Symphonies (2-CD set)
  • Schubert:
    • Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D 485
    • Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D 759 "Unfinished"
    • Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944 "Great"
  • Mendelssohn:
    • Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian"
    • Symphony No. 5 in D major, Op. 107 "Reformation"
NBC Symphony Orchestra1950–1953studio (Schubert)and broadcasts + rehearsals (Mendelssohn)RCA Red Seal 74321 59480 (The Immortal, Vol. V)
Brahms: The Four Symphonies (2-CD set)
  • Brahms:
    • Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
    • Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
    • Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
    • Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
NBC Symphony Orchestra1951-52 (studio)RCA Red Seal 74321 55838 (The Immortal, Vol. IV)
Great Symphonies (2-CD set)
  • Mozart:
    • Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
  • Haydn:
    • Symphony No. 94 in G major "Surprise"
  • Cherubini:
    • Symphony in D major
  • Schumann:
    • Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 97 "Rhenish"
  • Dvořák:
    • Symphony No. 9 in E minor, B. 178/Op. 95 “From the New World"
NBC Symphony Orchestra1949-53 (all studio, except Schumann which is a broadcast)RCA Red Seal 74321 59481 (The Immortal, Vol. VI)
French Orchestral Music (2-CD set)
  • Debussy:
    • La Mer, L. 109
    • Ibéria, for orchestra, L. 122/2
    • Nuages, L. 91/1
    • Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, L. 86
  • Ravel:
    • Daphnis et Chloé, suite No. 2
  • Berlioz:
    • Roman Carnival Overture, H.95/Op. 9
    • Roméo and Juliet: Queen Mab Scherzo, H.79/Op. 17
  • Franck:
    • Psyché
  • Herold:
    • Overture to "Zampa"
  • Saint-Saëns:
    • Danse macabre, Op. 40
  • Bizet:
    • Carmen Suite No. 1
  • Thomas:
    • Mignon Overture
  • Dukas:
    • The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Wagner (2-CD set)
  • Wagner:
    • Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
    • Siegfried: Forest Murmurs
    • Die Götterdämmerung: Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey / Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music
    • Siegfried Idyll
    • Tristan und Isolde: Prelude to Act I & Liebestod
    • Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Prelude to Act III
    • Parsifal: Prelude to Act I / Good Friday Spell
    • Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 1 / Prelude to Act III
    • Tannhäuser: Overture & Bacchanale
NBC Symphony Orchestra1949-52 (all studio, except Tannhäuser which is a broadcast)RCA Red Seal 74321 59482 (The Immortal, Vol. VII)
Orchestral Showpieces (2-CD set)
  • Mussorgsky:
    • Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
  • Richard Strauss:
    • Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
    • Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28
  • Brahms:
    • Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56a
    • Four Hungarian Dances
  • Tchaikovsky:
    • Nutcracker suite, Op. 71a
  • Sibelius:
    • Finlandia, Op. 26
  • Smetana:
    • Vltava (The Moldau)
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Brahms & Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos
  • Brahms:
    • Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, op. 83
  • Tchaikovsky:
    • Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
NBC Symphony Orchestra
  • Vladimir Horowitz, piano
1940–1941
The Complete Concert of March 21, 1954
  • Rossini:
    • Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia
  • Tchaikovsky:
    • Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique”
NBC Symphony Orchestra1954
The Final Concert – April 4, 1954
  • Wagner:
    • Lohengrin: Act I Prelude
    • Siegfried: Forest Murmors
    • Die Götterdämmerung: Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey
    • Tannhäuser: Overture and Bacchanale
    • Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Act I Prelude
NBC Symphony Orchestra1954
Toscanini Collection, Vol 28 – Shostakovich, Prokofiev. Stravinsky
  • Prokofiev:
    • Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 "Classical"
  • Shostakovich:
    • Symphony no 1 in F minor, Op. 10
  • Glinka:
    • Kamarinskaya
  • Liadov
    • Kikimora, Op. 63
  • Stravinsky:
    • Suite from Petrouchka
NBC Symphony Orchestra1940–1951
Toscanini Collection, Volume 38 - Gershwin, Grofé, Barber
  • Gershwin:
    • An American in Paris
  • Grofé:
    • Grand Canyon Suite
  • Barber:
    • Adagio for Strings, (arr. From String Quartet, Op. 11)
  • Sousa:
    • El Capitan / The Stars and Stripes Forever (arr. Toscanini)
  • Smith:
    • The Star-spangled Banner (arr. Toscanini)
NBC Symphony Orchestra1942–1945
Toscanini Collection, Volume 40 - Blue Danube Waltz, Etc.
  • Waldteufel:
    • Les patineurs, Op. 183
  • Leopold Mozart:
    • Cassation in G major "Toy Symphony"
  • Johann Strauss Jr.:
    • Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214 / On the Beautiful, Blue Danube, Op. 314
  • Suppé:
    • Poets and Peasants: Overture
  • Ponchielli
    • La Gioconda: Dance of the Hours
  • Paganini:
    • Moto perpetuo, Op. 11 (arr. Toscanini)
  • J. S. Bach:
    • Suite for Orchestra No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: Air
  • Glinka:
    • Capriccio brillante on the theme "Jota aragonesa"
  • Weber:
    • Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65
NBC Symphony Orchestra1938–1952
Toscanini Collection, Volume 11 - Mozart Symphonies
  • Mozart:
    • Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K 543 / Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K 550 / Symphony No. 41 in C major, K 551 "Jupiter"
NBC Symphony Orchestra1938–1948
Beethoven: Fidelio (2-CD set)
  • Beethoven:
    • Fidelio, Op. 72
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1944
Toscanini Collection, Volume 20 – Franck & Saint-Saëns Symphonies
  • Franck:
    • Symphony in D minor, M 48
  • Saint-Saëns:
    • Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 "Organ"
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Toscanini Collection, Volume 35 – Elgar & Mussorgsky
  • Mussorgsky:
    • Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
  • Elgar:
    • Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 "Enigma"
NBC Symphony Orchestra1951–1953
Toscanini Collection, Volume 30 - Richard Strauss
  • Richard Strauss:
    • Don Quixote, Op. 35* / Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Toscanini Collection, Volume 73 - Rossini & Mozart
  • Gioachino Rossini:
    • Stabat Mater
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
    • Requiem in D Minor K.626 (completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr)*
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1950-52RCA Gold Seal
Toscanini Collection, Volume 60 - Verdi: La Traviata
  • Verdi:
    • La Traviata
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1946
Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) (Set 2-CD)
  • Haydn:
    • Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons)
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1951RCA Gold Seal
Toscanini Collection, Volume 62 - Boito, Verdi: Opera Excerpts
  • Boito:
    • Mefistofele: Prologue
  • Verdi
    • I lombardi: Qual voluttà trascorrere / Rigoletto: Act 3
NBC Symphony Orchestra 1954
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Symphony No. 3
  • Brahms:
    • Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83* / Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
NBC Symphony Orchestra
  • Vladimir Horowitz, piano*
1946–1948
Beethoven, Mozart, Cherubini (2-CD set)
  • Beethoven:
    • Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123 / Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
  • Mozart:
    • Symphony No. 35 in D major, K 385 "Haffner"
  • Cherubini:
    • Anacréon: Overture
BBC Symphony Orchestra 1935–1939

External links

Very extensive online Toscanini discography

Notes and References

  1. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/Arturo-Toscanini/Conductor/56717-3

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