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{tohs-kah-nee'-nee}
The Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, b. Mar. 25, 1867,
d. Jan. 16, 1957, was among the finest and most admired musicians
of his time. After graduating (1885) with honors from the
conservatory in his native Parma, he was engaged as cellist
and coach by an opera company bound for Brazil. When, in Rio,
the troupe's conductor walked out, Toscanini stepped in, leading
Verdi's Aida without a score (1886). (In later life he was
able to overcome the disadvantage of nearsightedness with
his prodigious memory.) Returning to Italy, he was in the
orchestra for the first performance of Verdi's Otello (1887)
and led the premieres of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (1892) and
Puccini's La Boheme (1896). In 1898 he became chief conductor
at La Scala, Milan. Toscanini's career in the United States
began in 1908, when he commenced a 7-year tenure at the Metropolitan
Opera. Subsequently, he was principal conductor of the New
York Philharmonic (1928-36) and of the NBC Symphony, created
for him in 1937 and disbanded on his retirement in 1954. He
was a welcome visitor to London and was acclaimed at the Bayreuth
and Salzburg festivals, where later, in protest against Nazism,
he refused to appear.
Although Toscanini conducted some 20th-century works, including
those of Stravinsky, his repertoire was drawn primarily from
the period bounded by Haydn at one extreme and Debussy at
the other. He was devoted to the operas of Verdi and Wagner
and to the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms. His rehearsal
tantrums were legendary, but he won the affection of his musicians,
from whom he could command playing of astonishing unanimity,
energy, and clarity.
One of the great cult figures of his time, Toscanini became
the incarnation of music for a vast audience. Because he was
famous for an absolutely faithful interpretation of a composer's
intentions as they appeared on the printed score, few listeners
questioned the authority of his performances. Today, when
freer readings of scores are accepted, and often expected,
Toscanini's adherence to the score seems evidence of a certain
rigidity. Yet there is no doubt about his genius, which is
still obvious in the many recorded performance that he left
behind.
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