Search - Prokofiev, Toscanini, NBC :: Symphony 1 " Classical "

Amazing Sonic Fidelity in a 1940 Broadcast: A MUST-BUY!

09/16/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Play the 1940 broadcast of the tableaux from Stravinsky's Petruchka ballet for a hi fi buff, but do not tell her when the recording was made, by whom, or where. The sound is absolutely astonishing: crisp brilliance that seems modern in its transparency and scintillation; rich, full bass and drum impact, and powerful, punchy brass. There is even a trace of ambience and natural musical decay after loud notes and during pauses in the music: here is the actual, undimmed acoustical ambience of RCA's much- maligned Studio 8-H, at its best. It is not bad at all: no sense of cramping or claustrophobic dullness. One has to go right to the original archival in-house source disks, preserved perfectly and lovingly transcribed by the best techniques (by Seth Winner) to realize why Toscanini actually liked conducting in this studio, and preferred it to Carnegie Hall. Sadly, few other NBC recordings have this utterly pristine realism, and not many broadcasts were done with just the right mike placement and the best disk-cutting or taping techniques to preserve the results for posterity. But here is ONE recording that qualifies for the Toscanini Hall of Fame, as regards sonic integrity. The performance shows that Petruchka and Stravinsky's complicated rhythms were a great challenge to the NBC aggregation...there are some slightly smudged passages, but even the great martinet Koussevitzky turned out commercial Victor recordings that had ensemble flaws (such as his premiere release of Copland's Appalachian Spring, available on Biddulph.) Perhaps these slight imprecisions delayed the release of this material until the present day...one now aches with longing for other great Toscanini broadcasts of 20th century music, such as his profound account of Sibelius' Fourth Symphony.The Shostakovich is lithe, swift, and somewhat ferocious. It is just a tad sober, and lacking in some of the expression and wit found in it by Stokowski or other leading specialists in Russian repertoire. The good news is that the sound is much more full bodied, brilliant, and immediate than the prior release on RCA LP from 1967.The Prokofiev Classical Symphony commercial session from 1951 preserves an interesting and unusual reading, with a slower- than- normal slow movement, and much more expansion than the corruscating Koussevitzky readings. However, the actual live broadcast of the Prokofiev, released on a Relief CD (CR-1887) has a dollop more of sparkle and spontaneity. The Glinka and Liadov concert works were released previously on Victor LPs that were in the catalogs for many years, but they sound even better than ever before, and are generally much more intense and spirited than some of the readings one encounters from today's conductors (such as Fedoseyev, whose "Kamarinskaya" is utterly boring and lackluster compared to the Maestro's, or Batiz' or Gunzenhauser's very routine versions of "Kikimora".) This RCA release is one of the most cohesive, well- programmed, and best engineered of the extensive BMG Toscanini collection. Be sure to buy this AUTHORIZED recording, and not some subsequent cheezy bootleg issue, afflicted with unnecessary computerized sonic butchery!"

Russian Rarities

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 01/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard Toscanini's recording of the first and fourth tableauxs from Igor Stravinsky's ballet "Petrouchka" I was truly amazed that he had actually conducted this music in an NBC Symphony broadcast performance. We don't often associate Toscanini with the music of Stravinsky; he admitted that, as much as he admired Stravinsky's music, he found it difficult to conduct. However, here is a brilliant, exciting performance of about half the score of "Petrouchka," with remarkably good sound for a 1940 broadcast. By that time, acoustical modifications had been made to NBC Studio 8-H and much of the dullness and lack of reverberation were resolved. This is definitely a very fine performance of a colorful and sometimes mysterious musical score, the most innovative work that Stravinsky had produced up to that time. It is a memorable performance and truly astonishing, even if it was challenging to the NBC musicians.



Another surprise was Toscanini's performances of Shostakovich's first and seventh symphonies in NBC broadcasts. Indeed, Toscanini conducted the American premiere of the seventh symphony in July 1942 on an NBC broadcast, only to have the radio signals on the New York station nearly obliterated by a severe thunderstorm. Fortunately, the storm did not interfere with the recording that was finally issued by RCA Victor in 1967, along with Shostakovich's first symphony, from a 1943 broadcast.



Shostakovich reportedly complained about Toscanini's performance of the seventh symphony, after the composer heard a transcription recording of the broadcast, finding it rather banal. Remarkably, Bela Bartok (who somehow heard the broadcast amid the static) also complained about what he heard and burlesqued some of the music in his "Concerto for Orchestra."



However, it's possible Shostakovch might have enjoyed Toscanini's performance of the first symphony. This remarkably mature and innovative score was written by a promising young composer in his late teens. The conservative and often critical composer Alexander Glazunov was actually pleased with the symphony his student had composed. It is an absolutely dazzling and sometimes frightening work, given a spectacular performance by the NBC Symphony. The famous piano solos are played particularly well. There is a dramatic intensity in this performance, too, that has rarely been achieved elsewhere.



As far as I know, the only Prokofiev composition that Toscanini performed was HIS first symphony, dubbed the "Classical" because it used the models of Mozart and Haydn, showing what they might have produced if they had composed in the early twentieth century. This is definitely fun music and Toscanini's performance is quite enjoyable. Much of the charm and elegance has been captured. It certainly rivals the Boston Symphony's 1947 recording (in Carnegie Hall) under Serge Koussevitsky, also released by RCA Victor on both LPs and CDs.



Toscanini excelled in the little symphonic poem "Kikimora" by Liadov in this 1952 "studio" recording from Carnegie Hall. It is definitely the best recorded performance of this frightening and mischievous work, in which the composer depicted a little witch. Toscanini definitely captured all the nuances of this work.



The Maestro occasionally went back to the music of Russia's first great composer, Mikhail Glinka, and his 1940 broadcast performance of "Kamarinskaya" is spirited and delightful. The folk dances which Glinka included have seldom been played with more energy and precision. The sound is remarkably clear, too, attesting to the wonderful results that RCA engineers were able to achieve with advances in microphones and recording equipment.



Thanks to digital remastering, these recordings have never sounded quite as good as they do on this CD."