Album

Arturo Toscanini gave his farewell performance at La Scala on September 19, 1952, and the historic two-hour concert was broadcast by Radiotelevisione Italiana. This double disc from Idis presents the complete all-Wagner program with the announcer's introductions in Italian, so for all intents and purposes this is what listeners heard on their radios that evening. As one might imagine, the music sounds quite distorted and boxy, even by recording standards of the time, and the noises of the audience and steady tape hiss make this package a specialty item for collectors of Toscaniniana. Still, even the most skeptical music lover can get something out of Toscanini's robust interpretations; while the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano doesn't sound like the world's finest ensemble for this repertoire, the players certainly throw everything they've got into the music. The popular orchestral versions of sections extracted from Wagner's music dramas will be familiar to most, and though Toscanini made better sounding recordings of the Prelude to Die Meistersinger, Siegfried's Rhine Journey, and the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, among several other favorites, there is abundant energy and musicality in these performances to make listening pleasurable, once all the audio defects are put out of mind. Even so, there are some places where the applause is outrageously loud, so be prepared to make a few volume adjustments.

© Blair Sanderson, Rovi

CD 1 of 2
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Speaker of the Italian RAI Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor
1	#1.	15:05			$2.49
Richard Wagner Composer Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (opera)...Act 1 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
2	1.Overture	9:55			$1.49
Richard Wagner Composer Siegfried (opera), WWV 86c...Act 2 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
3	12.Sc.2: Daß der mein Vater nicht ist (with 'Waldweben' or 'Forest Murmurs')	8:40			$1.49
Richard Wagner Composer Siegfried Idyll, for small orchestra in E, WWV 103 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
4	Siegfried Idyll, for small orchestra in E, WWV 103	18:12			$2.99
Richard Wagner Composer Götterdämmerung (opera), WWV 86d...Prologue Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
5	12.Orchesterzwischenspiel: Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt	12:51			$1.99
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Speaker of the Italian RAI Work 4:56 Arturo Toscanini Conductor
6	#2.	0:36			$0.99

CD 2 of 2
1	#3.	4:20			$0.99
Richard Wagner Composer Parsifal (opera), WWV 111...Act 3 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
2	9.Wie dünkt mich doch die Aue heut so schön! (Karfreitagszauber; Good Friday Music)	11:38			$1.99
Richard Wagner Composer Götterdämmerung (opera), WWV 86d...Act 3 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
3	15.Sc.2: Orchesterzwischenspiel: Siegfrieds Trauermarsch	11:47			$1.99
Richard Wagner Composer Tristan und Isolde (opera), WWV 90...Act 1 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
4	1.Sc.1: Prelude	18:50			$2.99
Richard Wagner Composer Die Walküre (The Valkyrie; opera), WWV 86b...Scene 1 Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor, La Scala Theater Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.Hojotoho! Heiaha! (Ride of the Valkyries); 2.Nach dem Tann lenkt sie	9:49			$1.49
Spoken Word (No Composer) Composer Speaker of the Italian RAI Work Arturo Toscanini Conductor
6	#4.	0:35			$0.99