Page Eighteen
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursday, February 7, i 957 f
ARTURO TOSCANINI
He Corrected the Abuses of Tradition, Carried On a Never-Ending
Search for Perfection in All He Did
By DAVID KESSEL twist the works of composers to Ite original intentions of most amazed to find that the sound he tation. His La Mer is several steps
THE recent death of Arturo Tos- more or less suit their own pur- composers. A good example is the imagined to come from an off- above any competitive version,
canini has elicited a comforting poses The resulting situation was ixth symphony of Tchaikovsky pitch cello was actually his voice, filled with the excitement lacking
amount of comment from the Ifar from ideal, since conductors which has been rendered some- singing along with the orchestra, in other conductors.
inflicted their personal whims up- what more digestable by the eforts Similarly his recording of Shu-
press and magazines (over one on unsuspecting audiences; singers of Toscanini, who removea most of b he
page from TIME which is prob- inserted spurious notes into oper- the emotional sludge which other bets 7th symphony reaches a
ably more than they'll give Henry atic scores to dazzle listeners; solo- conductors have laid on with peak of intensity which others
Luce). Somewhere in the lengthy ists elaborated upon their parts heavy hands, cannot achieve. Usually not on
tributes to this man, though, his until some concertos began to dis- familiar ground with French im-
most important contribution to solve under the strain. OSCANIN'S interpretations of pressionism, Toscanini has never-
our musical culture has been Toscanini did much to correct many compositions have not theless fashioned Berlioz' Romeo
obscured. these abuses, although there are been unequivocally accepted; but & Juliette into a unmatched per-
When Toscanini came upon the til a number of obstinate indi- the fact remains that ir his sn- formance. If his musical sense of
tcene, a traditionhad-developed viduals with us who continue to relenting search for perfection; he humor produced an awkward
that artists and conductors shouldimagine that they can improve on has left behind a considerable Pictures at an Exhibition yet his
amount of music in the form of Classical Symphony is full of wit
recorded performances, and our and humor.
store of this material is enriched However it has been the sym-
accordingly. But to those who at- phonies of Brahms and most par-
tended his concerts, there are ticularly Beethoven which have
memories of live performances been given the most care and at-
which cannot be effectively repro- tention by Toscanini. Although
l m rushin Iduced by an electrical1device hiw many of his concert performances
ever elegant and expensive. of these symphonies have been
Perhaps the most satisfactory nearly perfect, somehow the re-
n bt down association Toscanini made was corded versions of them lack the
with late 19h century Italian final touch that only a live per-
Opera: Verdi and Piscns. His THE MAESTRO-Arturo Tos- formance can give. But the high
versions of their operas are un- canini conducting the NBC degree of perfection of the record-
o tne surpassed; and he has recorded symphony orchestra. Toscanini, ing art which permits us to enjoy
many of these: Boheme, Traviata, long the most popular and well these recordings is most welcome.
Otello, Fora del Destino, Falstaff. known conductor in the West-
His authority here is undisputed, ern world, died at his New York AND yet, for all the fine record-
ICE C and the coaching he gave both home January 16, age 89. In re- ings in existence, the great loss
singers and orchestras will provide cent years, Toscanini had de- is, of course, that no more will
KEG BEE K a valuable source of reference for voted most of his efforts to ra- Toscanini conduct his orchestra in
future conductors. his never ending search for per-
114 E. William Std oconducting and performing fection. For he was, first of all, a
Curiously enowh, releases of forrecordsm
M n tAen Boheme and Traviata reveal, to man in search of artistic perfec-
Mein end Fourth Ave. *the discerning listener, in musical And the habit remained with him tion, and a man of great mde-
Phone NO 8-7191 moments of great emotional im- to the end pendence. He was no creation of
OPEN -o a Mthe hi-fi purveyors' organizations
Daily 10 A.M. to 12 PM pact, the voice of Toscanni audi- Many of Toscanini's purely devoted to the acmlto n
WE HAVE ICE CUBES bly accompanying singers and orchestral recordings available accumulation and
Sundays Noon to 7 P.M. sale of lush sounding recordings
orchestra, now are masterpieces of interpre- of warmed-over music by second
" BEER * WINE 0 SOFT DRINKS During some early acoustical re- rate orchestras doctored up by
cording sessions, Toscanini w Mr. Kessel is a biochemistry electronic surgery. His concert
...__"-_-"-_ -- - __- teaching fellow and editor of programs were not cluttered up
Gargoyle Magazine. with the musical trash which de-
He has contributed to the lights the wealthy illiterates who
Magazine Section many times support many large orchestras.
in the past. Among his writings Nor did he cater to the demands
have been articles on hi-fi of self-styled prima donnas or
listening, traveling by automo- egocentric soloists.
bile and an analysis of Holly- In the final analysis one re-
wood advertising through the gards Toscanini most highly for
years. his success in restoring to the art
Mr. Kessel is also an avid ree- of conducting a certain dignity,
ord collector, being i posses- which resulted from both his im-
ion of more than a thousand mnense talent and his rigorous ap-
recordings proach. From this he never de-
TEXTEBOO SBparted.
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