NBC Symphony Orchestra

[CharlieH.]

I'll go straight to the point:
Is there a website where I can download entire NBC symphony broadcasts? That is, if there are any that survive in their entirety. For a long while I've wanted to hear exactly what made Arturo Toscanini such a big name.

 

[moustache]

I'll go straight to the point:
Is there a website where I can download entire NBC symphony broadcasts? That is, if there are any that survive in their entirety. For a long while I've wanted to hear exactly what made Arturo Toscanini such a big name.

Many of the recordings are still under copyright.Thats why it is tough to find them online.The Naxos company have reissued a few but i bet they had to pay handsomely for them.
I have quite a few of his recordings on cd.All of the New York Philharmonic recordings from the 1920's and 30's and about 1/3 of the NBC recordings till 1942.I especially love the Heifetz/Toscanini beethoven Violin concerto and the Rubenstein/Toscanini Beethoven Piano concerto #3.

Toscanini was a great conductor but ,in my humble opinion,only with certain composers.He was good with Beethoven,Wagner,Mendelssohn and Haydn.Thats about it for me.

JD

 

[CharlieH.]

Well, I guess I'll have to keep an eye open for the discs.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Naxos discs were widely distributed in Canada at one time, due to quirks in Canadian copyright law, but were specifically prohibited from being sold in the United States. I picked up a few several years ago during a visit to the big HMV store in downtown Montreal, and they were remarkably inexpensive -- about $15 Canadian, I think. These might still be available north of the border if you have any connections up there.

The Naxos issues are notable in that many of them are issues of the *complete*broadcasts. The RCA Victor LPs that came out in the 50s and 60s generally included just the music, but most of the Naxos discs also include the broadcast commentary by Ben Grauer or Gene Hamilton, and some even include the intermission features by Dr. Samuel Chotzinoff. They're a rare chance to hear how these broadcasts were packaged by the network, and are well worth tracking down.

 

[moustache]

The Naxos discs were widely distributed in Canada at one time, due to quirks in Canadian copyright law, but were specifically prohibited from being sold in the United States. I picked up a few several years ago during a visit to the big HMV store in downtown Montreal, and they were remarkably inexpensive -- about $15 Canadian, I think. These might still be available north of the border if you have any connections up there.

The Naxos issues are notable in that many of them are issues of the *complete*broadcasts. The RCA Victor LPs that came out in the 50s and 60s generally included just the music, but most of the Naxos discs also include the broadcast commentary by Ben Grauer or Gene Hamilton, and some even include the intermission features by Dr. Samuel Chotzinoff. They're a rare chance to hear how these broadcasts were packaged by the network, and are well worth tracking down.

In addition to Lizzie's splendid information,the RCA Victor Gold Seal Toscanini series can be found quite frequently used.Maybe even new online.They are a wonderful and vital addition to all collections.
Here are a few links that might help with CD #'s and such:

http://www.classicalnotes.net/features/toscaweb.html

http://www.toscaninionline.com/

http://www.hbdirect.com/browse_classical.php?v[0]=conductor&conductor=major&do=specific_conductor&specific_conductor=Toscanini%2C+Arturo

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&WRK=8126232

Hope this helps a little.

JD

 

[CharlieH.]

Thanks! I'll be on the lookout for these.

 

[dhermann1]

Toscanini

When I was a very little kid, age about 4, around 1950 - 51, I knew there were a few famous people. That included President Truman, Joe DiMaggio, and Arturo Toscanini.
You may find these recordings disappointing. The NBC orchestra (correct me if I'm wrong, Lizzie) did most of their broadcasts from the same studio where Saturday Night Live has always been broadcast from,at 30 Rock. Their idea of acoustics in those days was that the room should be totally dead, no reflections of any kind. Well, if you try to play symphonic music in a totally dead room, you're gonna get totally dead sound. And that's what they got. No hall reverbertion at all. So the music is pretty frustrating to listen to.
I agree about Toscanini's conducting. He can make Wagner sound quite odd.

 

[moustache]

When I was a very little kid, age about 4, around 1950 - 51, I knew there were a few famous people. That included President Truman, Joe DiMaggio, and Arturo Toscanini.
You may find these recordings disappointing. The NBC orchestra (correct me if I'm wrong, Lizzie) did most of their broadcasts from the same studio where Saturday Night Live has always been broadcast from,at 30 Rock. Their idea of acoustics in those days was that the room should be totally dead, no reflections of any kind. Well, if you try to play symphonic music in a totally dead room, you're gonna get totally dead sound. And that's what they got. No hall reverbertion at all. So the music is pretty frustrating to listen to.
I agree about Toscanini's conducting. He can make Wagner sound quite odd.

There are quite a few Toscanini recordings floating around in this world.Many are now public domain and up for grabs.The electrical recordings can be horrible at worst and very good at best.RCA did a decent job at re-mixing the 1940-1954 recordings.Others such as Naxos and Iron Needle did an admirable job as well.Many used to listening to cd's and other digital media just cannot get past hiss and scratch.I listen past this and am interested in the interpretation and content of the music,not the sonic value.I have newer cd's and records for that.(if i want aural quality).
The recordings from 1895 to 1950 or so are a testament to incredible musicianship and attention to detail.The history of recorded music depends on these.
As for Toscanini's technique and musicianship,those are without question a major part of our history.Whether you like it or not is a different story.I admired him in Beethoven,Schubert,Respighi and Haydn.But my favourite conductors of the Golden Age were Furtwangler,Walter,Horenstein and,in his moments,Klemperer.Listen to Mahler's 9th by Walter recorded in 1938 in Vienna,just before the Anschluss.Amazing,dramatic recording that still has not been equaled by any modern conductor(IMHO).Same goes with instrumental recordings as they were quite a bit easier to record in detail.

Well i could go on and on......Seems like i already have lol lol

JD