Understanding Toscanini: 135th Anniversary Edition

by Joseph Horowitz

Book Overview

As America's symbol of Great Music, Arturo Toscanini and the "masterpieces" he served were regarded with religious awe. As a celebrity personality, he was heralded for everything from his unwavering... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520085426
• ISBN13: 9780520085428
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 492 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The integrity made legend!

The power of myth is supported by the unexpected appearance of a hero who has nothing to do with the values of the city to conquer. He simply is absent of pacts or any kind of hidden compromises. In the Thirties USA lived possibly the most important flow of immigrants the history has known about, different origins and ideologies; beliefs and nationalities; the hope of a promissory future fed the imagination and inflamed still more the unquestionable capacities and skills of undeniable talents of all order and knowledge 's discipline. Toscanini represented by himself one of the maximum Ambassadors of the musical Art, but also he meant the irreverence and purity of convictions; his fame nourished by his well know political attitude that influenced to many musicians around the world. So he was the perfect sample of the individualism in search of the perfection and continuous discipline. There were many others (like Fritz Reiner for instance), but Toscanini challenged Mussolini `s Italy and his brave act of deny to conduct in a fascist Italy earned him his seal of immortality, indispensable element at the moment to build a myth. This is a book of fundamental historical relevance; not only surmounts the barriers of the musical world , but inscribes itself in a true sociological analysis of North America in those difficult and stormy years

Does it have to be 'true' to be 'right?'

Horowitz's book started an highly interesting and vital argument within the world music community: what is the 'selling' of superstar musicians doing to the music as consumers come to experience it? In his analysis of Toscanini's repackaging as a sort of cold warrior cultural hero and 'correct' conductor by NBC in the years after WWII, Horowitz shows us the start of the commodification of serious music as a palliative for the masses. If "Mozart makes you smarter" is a trade gimmick today, it owes its inception to the selling of Toscanini as the 'only conductor to faithfully follow the score'--which he was billed as, and which he assuredly did not.Toscanini's career is summarized and his NBC recording analyzed extensively in this volume, and the dynamics of selling serious music to a middle-brow audience come in for thoughtful consideration. This book is a bracing tonic for the idolatry that has corrupted honest critical assessment of Toscanini in the years since his death. If you're one of the ones who heard the awful singing of "The Three Tenors" and wondered how such mannered stuff could be massaged into a hit record, this book explains the process from its start.

A prejudiced view of Toscanini?

You'll have to decide for yourself, so don't skip this one.Horowitz portrays the beloved and tempestuous conductor as a carefully packaged and sold cultural superstar. I wonder if he's not a little ahead of himself on that one -- we're talking pre- during and post WWII here. Of course Toscanini's association with the NBC Orchestra paid off in a variety of ways but Horowitz seems to have forgotten the great conductor's incredible sensitivity to the music and the composers that he interpreted.I enjoyed this book immensely but can't agree with the author in a number of respects. Toscanini's fame was, quite obviously, a direct result of his talent, drive and the love audiences had for his interpretation of the music. Those are the facts, pure and simple.The book, however, deserves an unprejudiced and thoughtful reading.

outstanding

A brilliant insight into the cultural commodotification of a great conductor by the forces of materialism. A wonderful exposition on the exploitation of intellectual and cultural capital which someone like Bourdieu would do well to read. We discover not only fascinating stories of Toscanini's relations with Mahler and Furtwangler, but excellent analyses are given to show how Toscanini was iconised. The reason has much to do with a reflection of American society and the political and international situation of that time. After reading this book, it was clear to me why Toscanini is my idea of a great conductor, von Karajan (who has a cameo appearance in the book) as the technical exepert and balanced visionary, and Furtwangler as the intense Romantic, mystical artist. But both Toscanini and Furtwangler stand out as stalwarts against totalitarian regimes, though while former had his due, the latter was given his due recognition for this only after his death. A treat and joy for anyone who loves classical music.