{"product_id":"toscanini-verdi-aida-1949-paco197","title":"TOSCANINI Verdi - Aïda (1949) - PACO197","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eVERDI \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eAïda\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast recording, 1949\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e2hr 15:43\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAïda – \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eHerva Nelli\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAmneris –\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Eva Gustavson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRadamès – \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRichard Tucker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eAmonasro – \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eGiuseppe Valdengo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eIl Re (Pharoah) –\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Dennis Harbour\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRamfis – \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNorman Scott\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRobert Shaw Chorale\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003edirected by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRobert Shaw\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eArturo Toscanini\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PACO197.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\"PASSING his eighty-second birthday, Mr. Toscanini has afforded the audience of the nation, and we hope of even wider areas, a consummative example of interpretation in his broadcast performance in two parts of Verdi's “Aida,” completed yesterday afternoon in Radio City. Thanks enough can hardly be given the National Broadcasting Company which made such a performance available to every listener with a radio or television set at his disposal, wherever he might happen to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003eIt is not this winter’s belief that any radio transmission can catch completely the innermost nuance or pulsation of such a performance, which is to be experienced completely only perhaps by those within actual earshot. Something is denatured in the transmission, to say nothing of the fact that it is still necessary, as we understand it—knowing nothing whatever of the technical process—to limit the sonorous range from very soft to very loud in any broadcasting. These limitations, though they lessen every year, do inhere in radio transmission.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003eOn the other hand, such is the power in the province of the art which we ourselves are incapable of regarding as anything but the supreme art of them all—the art of music—that the thought and emotion back of the notes responsible for their projection come through unmistakably. The listener must sense strongly the creative impulsion of such a Toscanini interpretation. Whatever the acoustical boundaries, if the listener is at all sensitive himself he is likely to \"get it.\" He may not get the complete impression that he does if he sits in Studio 8H, but he will be caught in the evocative power of such a recreation of music.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 25px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eOlin Downes\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, 3 April 1949\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe opening paragraphs of Olin Downes' essay on Toscanini's 1949 NBC Aïda express, in the kindest possible way, his frustration at the inability of a contemporary radio broadcast to reproduce the experience of hearing the performance in real life (the article is reproduced in full here - see tabs above).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's the eternal quest both of the hi-fi buff or audiophile, and the recording producers and engineers whose work aims to bring the listener as close as possible to the \"real thing\", whatever that may actually be - one person's perception somewhere in the upper tiers of an opera house will inevitably differ considerably to that of the conductor in the orchestra pit. Toscanini famously desired the kind of bone dry acoustic he was almost certainly used to in the opera houses he'd spent his life working in, something modern ears often struggle with.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAny recording therefore includes a degree of artifice - we are no more able to visit the Studio 8H of 1949 today than most listeners could in 1949. Instead my aim is to offer a somewhat idealised sound to this recording - a sense of dimensional air around the performers in the absence of true stereo, a correctional equalisation to overcome the shortcomings of 1940s recording equipment, and so on. Hopefully as a result of this we can get closer than ever to Olin Downes' \"innermost nuance or pulsation of such a performance\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eVERDI \u003c\/b\u003eAïda\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003edisc one\u003c\/b\u003e (75:57)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Prelude  (3:14)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACT ONE\u003cbr\u003e2. Sì: corre voce che l'Etiope  (1:30)\u003cbr\u003e3. Se quel guerrier ... Celeste Aïda  (4:16)\u003cbr\u003e4. Quale insolita gioia nel tuo sguardo!  (2:23)\u003cbr\u003e5. Dessa!  (1:25)\u003cbr\u003e6. Ohimé!  Di guerra fremere  (1:52)\u003cbr\u003e7. Alta cagion v'aduna  (1:13)\u003cbr\u003e8. Il sacro suolo dell'Egitto é invaso  (1:57)\u003cbr\u003e9. Su! Del Nilo al sacro lido  (2:28)\u003cbr\u003e10. Ritorna vincitor!  (6:07)\u003cbr\u003e11. Possente Fthà!  (3:06)\u003cbr\u003e12. Sacred Dance Of The Priestesses  (2:03)\u003cbr\u003e13. Mortal, dilet to ai numi  (1:00)\u003cbr\u003e14. Nume, custode e vindice  (4:27)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACT TWO\u003cbr\u003e15. Chi mai fra gl'inni a i plausi  (2:30)\u003cbr\u003e16. Dance Of The Moorish Slaves  (1:29)\u003cbr\u003e17. Vieni: sul crin ti piovano  (0:42)\u003cbr\u003e18. Silenzio! Aïda verso noi s'avaza  (5:37)\u003cbr\u003e19. Pietà, ti prenda del mo dolor  (1:46)\u003cbr\u003e20. Su! Del Nilo al scaro lido  (2:20)\u003cbr\u003e21. Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside  (3:25)\u003cbr\u003e22. March And Ballet  (5:52)\u003cbr\u003e23. Vieni, o guerriero vindice  (2:22)\u003cbr\u003e24. Salvator della patria  (1:17)\u003cbr\u003e25. Concedi in pria  (0:44)\u003cbr\u003e26. Che veggo! Egli? Mio padre!  (0:51)\u003cbr\u003e27. Quest'assisa chio vesto vi dica  (0:58)\u003cbr\u003e28. Ma tu, re, tu, signore possente  (3:46)\u003cbr\u003e29. O re, pei sacri numi  (2:16)\u003cbr\u003e30. Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside  (1:10)\u003cbr\u003e31. Fa' cor: della tua patria  (1:55)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003edisc two \u003c\/b\u003e(59:46)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACT THREE\u003cbr\u003e1. O tu, che sei d'Osiride  (2:12)\u003cbr\u003e2. Vieni d'Iside al tempio  (2:08)\u003cbr\u003e3. Qui Radamès verrà!  (1:39)\u003cbr\u003e4. O patria mia  (4:39)\u003cbr\u003e5. Ciel! Mio padre!  (1:06)\u003cbr\u003e6. Rivedrai le foreste imbalsamate  (1:32)\u003cbr\u003e7. In armi ora si desta il popol nostro  (2:27)\u003cbr\u003e8. Padre! A costoro schiava non sono  (2:10)\u003cbr\u003e9. Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aïda  (1:20)\u003cbr\u003e10. Nel fiero anelito di nuova guerra  (1:40)\u003cbr\u003e11. Fuggiam Gli ardori inospiti  (3:46)\u003cbr\u003e12. Aïda! - Tu non m'ami  (0:29)\u003cbr\u003e13. Ah no! Fuggiamo!  (1:20)\u003cbr\u003e14. Ma, dimmi  (2:05)\u003cbr\u003e15. Traditor  (1:02)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eACT FOUR\u003cbr\u003e16. L'abborrita rivale a me sfuggia  (1:22)\u003cbr\u003e17. Io l'amo, io l'amo sempre!  (1:33)\u003cbr\u003e18. Già i sacerdoti adunansi  (2:02)\u003cbr\u003e19. Ah! Tu dei vivere!  (2:42)\u003cbr\u003e20. Chi ti salva, sciagurato  (1:44)\u003cbr\u003e21. Ohimé! Morir mi sento  (2:10)\u003cbr\u003e22. Spirto del nume, sovra noi discendi!  (1:39)\u003cbr\u003e23. Radamès! Radamès! Radamès!  (3:10)\u003cbr\u003e24. A lui vivo la tomba!  (3:23)\u003cbr\u003e25. La fatal pietra sovra me si chiuse  (2:11)\u003cbr\u003e26. Presago il core della tua condanna  (2:07)\u003cbr\u003e27. Vedi? Di morte l'angelo  (1:41)\u003cbr\u003e28. O terra, addio  (4:27)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCAST\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAïda – \u003cb\u003eHerva Nelli\u003c\/b\u003e (soprano)\u003cbr\u003eAmneris – \u003cb\u003eEva Gustavson\u003c\/b\u003e (mezzo-soprano)\u003cbr\u003eRadamès – \u003cb\u003eRichard Tucker\u003c\/b\u003e (tenor)\u003cbr\u003eAmonasro – \u003cb\u003eGiuseppe Valdegno\u003c\/b\u003e (baritone)\u003cbr\u003eIl Re (Pharoah) – \u003cb\u003eDennis Harbour\u003c\/b\u003e (bass)\u003cbr\u003eRamfis – \u003cb\u003eNorman Scott\u003c\/b\u003e (bass)\u003cbr\u003eUn Messagero – \u003cb\u003eVirginio Assandri\u003c\/b\u003e (tenor)\u003cbr\u003eSacerdotessa –\u003cb\u003e Teresa Stich-Randall \u003c\/b\u003e(soprano) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Shaw Chorale\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003edirected by \u003cb\u003eRobert Shaw\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eArturo Toscanini\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLive broadcast recordings, 26 March (Acts 1 \u0026amp; 2) \u0026amp; 2 April (Acts 3 \u0026amp; 4), 1949\u003cbr\u003eStudio 8H, Radio City, New York\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmbient Stereo XR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eFront cover artwork: Arturo Toscanini conducting Aïda, an AI digital artwork by DALL-E 2\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal duration:  2hr 15:43\u003c\/b\u003e\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\/PACO197.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PACO197.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fNYT Article, 1949578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003eCREATIVE ‘AIDA’\n\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eToscanini Shows How a Familiar Work Can Be Restored to Greatness\n\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nBy \u003cb\u003eOLIN DOWNES\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nPASSING his eighty-second birthday, Mr. Toscanini has afforded the audience\nof the nation, and we hope of even wider areas, a consummative example of\ninterpretation in his broadcast performance in two parts of Verdi's “Aida,”\ncompleted yesterday afternoon in Radio City. Thanks enough can hardly be\ngiven the National Broadcasting Company which made such a performance\navailable to every listener with a radio or television set at his disposal,\nwherever he might happen to be.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIt is not this winter’s belief that any radio transmission can catch\ncompletely the innermost nuance or pulsation of such a performance, which\nis to be experienced completely only perhaps by those within actual\nearshot. Something is denatured in the transmission, to say nothing of the\nfact that it is still necessary, as we understand it—knowing nothing\nwhatever of the technical process—to limit the sonorous range from very\nsoft to very loud in any broadcasting. These limitations, though they\nlessen every year, do inhere in radio transmission.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eEvocative Power\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nOn the other hand, such is the power in the province of the art which we\nourselves are incapable of regarding as anything but the supreme art of\nthem all—the art of music—that the thought and emotion back of the notes\nresponsible for their projection come through unmistakably. The listener\nmust sense strongly the creative impulsion of such a Toscanini\ninterpretation. Whatever the acoustical boundaries, if the listener is at\nall sensitive himself he is likely to \"get it.\" He may not get the complete\nimpression that he does if he sits in Studio 8H, but he will be caught in\nthe evocative power of such a recreation of music.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAnd “re-creation\" it is! We have the impression that Mr. Toscanini does not\nlike this word, and we shall not be violating an inviolable confidence if\nwe recall at this moment a sort of unspoken protest of some years ago which\ncame to us from this selfless artist. We had used the word “re-creation,\"\nas we recall it, commenting upon one of his performances. A few hours later\ncame an envelope containing a letter of Verdi on this subject.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIt is such a simple but eloquent comment on that master’s part that a\nparagraph from it may not be amiss here. We avail ourselves here of the\nexcellent translation of this letter by Edward Downes in the volume of\nletters selected by Franz Werfel and Paul Stefan and published by L. B.\nFischer of New York. Verdi wrote Giulio Ricordi:\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n“As to conductors' inspiration *** to 'creative activity in every\nperformance’ ***. That is a principle which forever inevitably leads to the\nbaroque and untrue. It is precisely the path that led music to the baroque\nand untrue at the end of the last century and in the, first years of this,\nwhen singers made bold to 'create' (as the, French still say) their parts,\nand in consequence made a complete hash and contradiction of sense out of\nthem. No: I want only one single creator and I shall be quite satisfied if\nthey perform simply and exactly what he has written. I often read in the\npapers about effects that the composer never could have thought of; but for\nmy part I have never found such a thing. I understand everything you say\nabout Mariani; we are all agreed upon his merit. But it is not a question\nof a single performance, were he ever so eminent, it is a question of art\nitself. I deny that either singers or conductors can ‘create' or work\ncreatively—this, as I have always said, is a conception that leads to the\nabyss.\"\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA True “Aida”\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nGranted the truth of that principle. it nevertheless, in the ultimate of a\nmaster’s interpretation, becomes untrue! The writer believes that when he\nsaid a week ago of the first two acts of “Aida\" that those who had not\nheard Toscanini conduct it had not heard “Aida,” he wrote the fact. And\nthis does not mean at all that the performance reached unheard-of heights\nbecause of Toscanini's fabulous clarity and precision or dramatic\ntemperament or orchestral command.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIt is something that goes farther and is more consummative than all that;\nsomething that fuses together in one flaming unity all the elements of an\nart, adding those of the spirit to those of the mind and senses; something\nthat releases the jewel of the artistic creation from the matrix of its\nconception in the composer’s consciousness; that sets the music in a free\nand supreme place of its very own, where it has no connection with or\nobligation to the source, even, of its existence.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThat is the creative force which we are trying to define which is present\nin the greatest interpretations of Mr. Toscanini. Needless to say, he does\nnot always achieve such a height. No artist could. The consummative may\noccur often enough in their work just to torment the greatest artists. But\nno oftener!\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eArtistic Conscience\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nA friend said to Toscanini recently, after his performance of the Beethoven\n“Pastoral\" symphony: “The spirit of Beethoven is in you.\" Toscanini replied\na little sadly: “Only sometimes.”\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe wholly exceptional level of anything that he attempts is the result of\nhis genius and his artistic conscience. But when the goal is reached, as\ncertainly it has been in the “Aida” performances and in certain of the\nrehearsals, the achievement is not only evocative, it iscreative in the\ntruest sense of the word.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nIt cannot be otherwise with an interpreter of the highest rank. It could\nnot be, however greatly such an interpreter might desire to keep the\nperformance on a purely objective level. Something has gone into the\nbusiness which frees the music of every bond—even of the man who composed\nit, to say nothing of the interpreter.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nBut this is not done merely by a process of purification. By a sovereign\nact of intellectuality and imperious creative power the music has been put\nbeyond the reach, one would almost say, of any outside power, on its\nthrone. By a very act of supreme humanity, it has been set free of any\nhuman agency. The umbilical cord has been severed because of the creative\nrelease so selflessly and decisively achieved. And this triumph makes the\nlistener aware, as he may not have been before, of the extent of music’s\nmiracle.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe beauty of this supremely artistic process is the logic, the method, and\nconstruction which have brought it to accomplishment. A Toscanini\nperformance is not accomplished by devices of magic. It begins with the\nmost practical and energetic working out of every detail in the scre. The\ndetails of “Aida” happen to be numerous, if only in point of the great\nensembles and the richness of detail in the instrumentation. Each of these\ndetails has in turn to be perfected and adjusted to the grand line of the\nreading—always the conductor's task.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSynthesis\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThen comes the interpretive study and the vitalizing of every word of the\ntext that the characters sing, as well as the transfiguration of the word\nby the tone, and the fitting together of the whole. In the synthesis of the\nperformance one thrills to feel the brain of Toscanini, which is so\npowerful and aristocratic in its texture, summarizing the whole concept,\nand passionately vitalizing each element of it.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nAll this precedes the moment when the head of ice and the heart of fire\nbecome one precipitating force which fashions this music, with the power of\nthe demon in it: the presence of something sublime, even terrifying, evoked\nfrom the invisible world by the spirit of man.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003cbr\u003ePublished: April 3, 1949\n\u003c\/b\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":44064698499162,"sku":"lpm1789303575454","price":23.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064698531930,"sku":"ean1789303575455","price":16.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":44064698564698,"sku":"jql1789303575456","price":12.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0726\/3807\/0874\/files\/toscanini-verdi---aida-1949---paco197_1.jpg?v=1789303582","url":"https:\/\/vestorawear.shop\/products\/toscanini-verdi-aida-1949-paco197","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}