# RCA's complete Toscanini box set



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I just got my copy from Amazon. I've never followed Toscanini very closely... just a few videos back in the laserdisc days and a CD of a live performance of Tchaikovsky's piano concerto with Horowitz. Are there any treasures in here I should devour first?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Tchaikovsky´s "_Manfred_" could be an option and suits his style well ... I´ve got the studio LP version and like its "operatic" drama. A live version, in your set I believe, has an even better reputation, maybe it is this one 




I´ve got sets of his Beethoven & Brahms symphonies too;

Horowitz in Tchaikovsky and Brahms´ 2nd (both good, but the Tchaikovsky should be heard with Szell live in May 1952, which also has better sound (



), and with Toscanini in the 1941 version, which is in your set too I believe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ykjT1-N14);

Anja Dorfmann in Beethoven´s 1st Piano Concerto (quite interesting and a bit unusual);
Serkin in Beethoven´s 4th (1944),

as well as Toscanini in Rossini ouvertures, some Martucci, Verdi´s Requiem etc.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

The 1939 Eroica. Once you get used to the sound, it's outstanding.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Thanks! .


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I've been listening to the box. Amazing stuff! Thanks for the recommendations. I've had Toscanini LPs and CDs in the past, but the eq was really harsh with biting upper mids and overdriven peaks. This set is MUCH better in that regard. The small sound of Studio 8H is still there, but today I tried an experiment that improved that greatly.

My Yamaha receiver has 5:1 DSP settings that synthesize different acoustics. I tried playing Toscanini through the Vienna Concert Hall simulation and it was a revelation. It wasn't true stereo because the violins were in the middle, but it opened up the sound, increased transparency, and most off all added a much needed ring out to the music.

I wish it was as easy to record 5:1 sound as it is stereo. I'd run the whole box through this DSP and burn it all to a blu-ray disk.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

If you find particularly interesting performances tell a bit about them; surely there is a bewildering lot of recordings by Toscanini, but they tend to be less talked about than say Furtwängler`s ...


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

bigshot said:


> My Yamaha receiver has 5:1 DSP settings that synthesize different acoustics. I tried playing Toscanini through the Vienna Concert Hall simulation and it was a revelation. It wasn't true stereo because the violins were in the middle, but it opened up the sound, increased transparency, and most off all added a much needed ring out to the music.


Wow. I need to try fiddling with my stereo.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Today I listened to Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. I totally understand why people love Toscanini now. My impression before was that he was rigid and fast, but that was based on Beethoven, which lends itself to that. Mendelssohn is quite different, and it showed how flexible and lyrical Toscanini was... not the wide Viennese swing, but a light bounce, sort of like Italian opera. He took the last movement very fast and the orchestra kept right up with him. Spectacular woodwinds! But the slower inner movements were delicate and beautiful. Nothing like the image of Toscanini I used to have. Very nice sound. I added just a touch of a concert hall DSP and it sounded as good as any pre-stereo recording... better in fact because the DSP adds a bit of stereo ambience.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Since I love Mendelssohn, I'm going to have to look this one up. Your description sounds very appealing.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

bigshot said:


> Today I listened to Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. I totally understand why people love Toscanini now. My impression before was that he was rigid and fast, but that was based on Beethoven, which lends itself to that. Mendelssohn is quite different, and it showed how flexible and lyrical Toscanini was... not the wide Viennese swing, but a light bounce, sort of like Italian opera. He took the last movement very fast and the orchestra kept right up with him. Spectacular woodwinds! But the slower inner movements were delicate and beautiful. Nothing like the image of Toscanini I used to have. Very nice sound. I added just a touch of a concert hall DSP and it sounded as good as any pre-stereo recording... better in fact because the DSP adds a bit of stereo ambience.


You see it's all down to Chinese Whispers,most of the people running him down know nothing about him.
That goes for other artists as well.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I think it has something to do with his Beethoven. He had a very unique approach to the symphonies. I think people assume he took the same approach to other music, but he had a much broader range than that.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

bigshot said:


> I think it has something to do with his Beethoven. He had a very unique approach to the symphonies. I think people assume he took the same approach to other music, but he had a much broader range than that.


His problem was RCA and Studio 8H which made everthing sound harsher and faster than it really was.Remember I saw him live and the sound was extraordinary.
I swear we've had this same conversation not long ago!


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The sound isn't a problem on this box set. I was talking more about Toscanini's reputation for being hard driving and rigid. That may be true of his Beethoven, but not other composers.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Another revelation to share. I listened to Toscanini's recording of Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B Flat Major and realized that HIP is a style that has existed much longer than people give it credit for. If I heard this recording and didn't know it was Toscanini, I would swear it was a modern HIP performance. Another thing Toscanini excels at that I didn't expect!


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