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4.0 out of 5 stars
Toscanini's French repertoire, Oct 22 2003
Here is a fine collection of some of the best works by French composers featuring Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, all taken from studio recordings. Most of these were made in Carnegie Hall and benefit from its outstanding acoustics. Remarkably, Debussy's "La Mer" and "Iberia" and Dukas' "The Sorceror's Apprentice" were made in NBC Studio 8-H; when there was no audience present in that studio, the sound was generally better, although it still lacked the reverberation of most concert halls. The performances, however, are outstanding. "La Mer," in particular has seldom sounded as haunting as it did in Toscanini's 1950 Studio 8-H recording. "Iberia" is exciting and colorful, as Debussy intended, and "The Sorceror's Apprentice" is lively and energetic, even if the tempo is a bit faster than most performances. I've never heard Toscanini's recording of "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," Debussy's first great masterpiece. The "Dapnis and Chloe" suite by Ravel is sensational, even if one misses the wordless chorus used in most performances and recordings. Toscanini did well with Berlioz, as the "Roman Carnival" and "Queen Mab Scherzo" demonstrate. Fortunately, Toscanini also recorded the complete "Romeo and Juliet" dramatic symphony in 1947; I believe that was the first recording of the full score and was made after a highly-acclaimed NBC broadcast concert. "Psyche and Eros" by Cesar Franck is absolutely brilliant, quite moving, in Toscanini's studio recording in Carnegie Hall. He obviously had a lot of fun with Louis Herold's "Zampa" overture, one of the more showy of his 1952 Carnegie Hall studio recordings, as well as Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse macabre." The excerpts from "Carmen" by Georges Bizet are quite interesting, undoubtedly benefiting from Toscanini's careful editing. Finally, the overture to "Mignon" was originally issued on a 12-inch 78-rpm disc in the mid 1940's; it was also recorded in Carnegie Hall and has remarkably good sound. RCA's digital remastering of these recordings is a plus, although it is sometimes challenging for today's engineers to overcome the original engineers' tendency to boost highs and reduce lows.
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