Arturo Toscanini - Conductor Dictator
October 24th 2006 10:33
Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957), more than probably any other conductor of his era, became a figurehead for absolute high standards and refinement in professional orchestral music. During a long stretching period where record companies pushed classical music into the mainstream, Toscanini’s name became synonymous with extra ordinary quality from some of the world’s best orchestras. Such was the atmosphere surrounding him, there was a commonly held attitude that Toscanini created official and definitive recordings of all music. However, his lasting infamy is not without reason, and in the memories of many musicians and critics he is probably still considered a terrible dictator of 20th century music.
Born into a loveless Italian family(a situation many psycho-analysts use to explain his apparent coldness and general resentment), Toscanini’s early education on cello took second place to conducting after his debut replacing an incompetent conductor in a 1886 production of Verdi’s Aida. In an attempt to revitalise Italian opera in his home country, he operated in La Scala with a great control over music and the productions. It is here that his reputation for anger probably really started to develop. In a closing performance in 1902, such was Toscanini’s disgust at audience uproar calling for repeats, that he left early and arrived home with a bleeding fist having punched through a glass window. When Mussolini came to power, Toscanini was a stoic resistor of fascism in Italy, and repeatedly refused to play fascist anthems in his opera house, or to allow a picture of Mussolini to hang. His resistance at one point had him punched in the head by angry crowds, and it is probably only his prominence and occasional discretion that stopped his own execution. Regardless of his own political views, he appeared to keep his respect of music inviolate: in 1915 when he returned to Italy to help with the war effort, he still performed Wagner and boycotted Rome when it banned German music.
As memorable as his political sentiments might have been, he was more renowned to musicians as having an ear for perfection and an intense temper when his musical desires were not satisfied. His tantrums have been likened to those of Hitler, and often served the same purpose - to instil submission and obedience through fear. He was known to frequently break batons, rip a handkerchief he kept with him or the jacket on his back, and yell unmitigatingly at his orchestras. Sneak photographers had their cameras grabbed and smashed. In Turin, he snapped a violinist’s bow, causing facial injury and narrowly missing an eye. Toscanini’s fits of rage seem to demonstrate that an aspect of them was just for show, and behind the anger he remained cool and completely aware of his actions. Toscanini is the largest influence on the stereotyped image of an unyielding, terrifying conductor.
Another area where Toscanini achieved renown was in his policy of pursuing the sacrosanct writings of composers to produce a sound as close as possible to the original intention. Such policies were furthered by other conductors with the establishment later of early music ensembles. Such an ideology was used widely in marketing Toscanini’s recordings, and his pursuing of this aim was a big factor in the development of the mass society view of his exclusivity as the world’s best conductor. However, after his death, analytical research of his private scores revealed his separation from his own doctrines. Scores were marked with modifications to original textures, and in Debussy’s La Mer he actually rewrote two pages and replaced them in the original score. Such were the attitudes towards him, that the paradoxical view developed that any modification made by Toscanini, or any edit to original scores, was simply a perfection aimed at creating what the original composer obviously must have meant. Despite this hypocrisy, his views were important in developing the now widely accepted practice of attempting to express a composer’s original intentions in performance.
Toscanini remains a fascinating musical and historical figure. This is just a brief look at some of the controversial issues relating to his life and music. For those interested in more, there are many studies and biographies available. In addition to this, I would recommend reading Norman Lebrecht’s ‘The Maestro Myth’ which is a fascinating look at many famous composers and the development of the conducting profession.
Toscanini, taken from toscaninionline.com
As memorable as his political sentiments might have been, he was more renowned to musicians as having an ear for perfection and an intense temper when his musical desires were not satisfied. His tantrums have been likened to those of Hitler, and often served the same purpose - to instil submission and obedience through fear. He was known to frequently break batons, rip a handkerchief he kept with him or the jacket on his back, and yell unmitigatingly at his orchestras. Sneak photographers had their cameras grabbed and smashed. In Turin, he snapped a violinist’s bow, causing facial injury and narrowly missing an eye. Toscanini’s fits of rage seem to demonstrate that an aspect of them was just for show, and behind the anger he remained cool and completely aware of his actions. Toscanini is the largest influence on the stereotyped image of an unyielding, terrifying conductor.
Another area where Toscanini achieved renown was in his policy of pursuing the sacrosanct writings of composers to produce a sound as close as possible to the original intention. Such policies were furthered by other conductors with the establishment later of early music ensembles. Such an ideology was used widely in marketing Toscanini’s recordings, and his pursuing of this aim was a big factor in the development of the mass society view of his exclusivity as the world’s best conductor. However, after his death, analytical research of his private scores revealed his separation from his own doctrines. Scores were marked with modifications to original textures, and in Debussy’s La Mer he actually rewrote two pages and replaced them in the original score. Such were the attitudes towards him, that the paradoxical view developed that any modification made by Toscanini, or any edit to original scores, was simply a perfection aimed at creating what the original composer obviously must have meant. Despite this hypocrisy, his views were important in developing the now widely accepted practice of attempting to express a composer’s original intentions in performance.
Toscanini remains a fascinating musical and historical figure. This is just a brief look at some of the controversial issues relating to his life and music. For those interested in more, there are many studies and biographies available. In addition to this, I would recommend reading Norman Lebrecht’s ‘The Maestro Myth’ which is a fascinating look at many famous composers and the development of the conducting profession.
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Comment by Tel
I would love you to guest in my classical music lounge Peter. That would really be terrific.
Btw, warts and all, Toscanini is my longtime favourite conductor. I have Lebrecht's book you
mentioned; also have some of the old CD recordings I think recorded from a US radio station. Really old, similar to some of the old CDs of Callas.
Sharing you two of my sites:
Classical Music Lounge
The Inspired Pen
Best regards,
Tel
Comment by Peter
I am not directly familiar with any of Toscanini's performances, he is a bit beyond my life time. I definately find him a fascinating figure to study, though.
Comment by stella harper