Arturo Toscanini conducted recordings from 1920 until his retirement in 1954.
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Toscanini made his first recordings in December 1920 with the La Scala Orchestra in the Trinity Church studio of the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey and his last with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in June 1954 in Carnegie Hall. His entire catalog of commercial recordings was issued by RCA Victor, save for two single-sided recordings for Brunswick in 1926 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and a series of excellent recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1937 to 1939 for the EMI His Master's Voice label (which was RCA's European affiliate). Besides the 1926 recordings with the New York Philharmonic (his first with the electrical process), Toscanini made a series of recordings with them for RCA Victor, in Carnegie Hall, in 1929 and 1936. He also recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra for RCA Victor in Philadelphia's Academy of Music in 1941 and 1942.
The majority of Toscanini's recordings were made with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was created expressly for him. The NBCSO recordings, dating from 1937–1954, cover the bulk of his repertoire and document the final phase of his 68 year career.
From 1990-1992, RCA reissued its entire Toscanini catalogue on Compact Disc, on the RCA Victor Gold Seal label. This 71 volume issue covered 82 CDs and was remastered, whenever possible, from original sources. In 2001, RCA again issued 24 CDs from Toscanini's NBC years, in newer remasterings. In April 2012, Sony Masterworks, which now owns RCA's archives, issued an 84 CD boxed set of Toscanini's complete RCA Victor recordings and original HMV recordings with the BBC Symphony. Recorded concerts with various European orchestras, especially with La Scala Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, have been issued on other labels. Toscanini's retirement coincided with the first commercial stereophonic recordings. Only his final two NBC concerts, on March 21 and April 4, 1954, were recorded in stereo.
As the Toscanini biographer Harvey Sachs observed, Toscanini's first recordings in 1920 took place at the precise midpoint of his conducting career (1896–1954). Therefore, his recordings only document how Toscanini conducted in the latter half of his career.
A guide to Toscanini's recording career can be found in Mortimer H. Frank's "From the Pit to the Podium: Toscanini in America" in International Classical Record Collector (1998, 15 8-21) and Christopher Dyment's "Toscanini's European Inheritance" in International Classical Record Collector (1998, 15 22-8). Frank and Dyment also discuss Maestro Toscanini's performance history in the 50th anniversary issue of Classic Record Collector (2006, 47) Frank with 'Toscanini - Myth and Reality' (10-14) and Dyment 'A Whirlwind in London' (15-21) This issue also contains interviews with people who performed with Toscanini - Jon Tolansky 'Licia Albanese - Maestro and Me' (22-6) and 'A Mesmerising Beat: John Tolansky talks to some of those who worked with Arturo Toscanini, to discover some of the secrets of his hold over singers, orchestras and audiences.' (34-7). There is also a feature article on Toscanini's interpretation of Brahms's First Symphony - Norman C. Nelson, 'First Among Equals [...] Toscanini's interpretation of Brahms's First Symphony in the context of others' (28-33)
Mortimer Frank's Arturo Toscanini: The NBC Years (2002) contains an extensive discography as 'Appendix 8'. It is already a little dated, but it is still very useful. In addition to all discs from RCA's Toscanini Collection (Gold Seal) and The Immortal (Red Seal), many important broadcasts issued by Naxos, Music and Arts, Testament and others are also included. Caveat: all releases after 2002 are not included, and there is a fair amount of these; for instance, the five discs box-set with the complete Beethoven symphonies (RCA Red Seal). Also misleading is the listing of some old remasters of Music and Arts which are now available in better transfers; for instance, Tchaikovsky Manfred and Romeo and Juliet from March 21, 1953, have been re-issued in 2004 as CD-4260, whereas the book gives only the old edition from 1987 (CD-260). Nevertheless, the discography is valuable as an excellent starting point for Toscanini neophyte collectors.
The discography below is not comprehensive, but rather representative.[1] The listing only contains Compact Disc releases and does not contain 78rpm, LP, Cassette, or 8-track tape releases. In addition to recordings issued by the RCA label, it includes issues of rehearsals and broadcast performances on other labels.
| Title/Program | Collaborators | Year(s) of Recording | Record label |
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Toscanini Collection, Volume 71: La Scala Acoustical Recordings
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La Scala Theatre Orchestra | 1920–1921 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 64: Haydn - Beethoven
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New York Philharmonic | RCA Gold Seal | |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 65: Mozart – Brahms – Wagner
Wagner:
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New York Philharmonic | RCA Gold Seal | |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 66: Overtures & Preludes
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New York Philharmonic | RCA Gold Seal | |
Complete Philadelphia Orchestra Recordings (3 CD set)
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Philadelphia Orchestra
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1941–1942 | RCA Red Seal |
Beethoven: 9 Symphonies (5 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1949-53 (all broadcasts, except Nos. 1, 2, 8, and 9: studio) | RCA Red Seal 82876 55702 (the same remasters as in The Immortal, Vols. I-III, which also includes a 1953 studio recording of Missa Solemnis) |
Italian Orchestral Music (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1949–1953 (all studio) | RCA Red Seal 74321 72374 (The Immortal, Vol. X) |
Verdi & Cherubini: Choral Works (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1951–1954 (broadcasts, plus many patches from rehearsals for Verdi's Requiem) | RCA Red Seal 74321 72373 (The Immortal, Vol. XI) |
Schubert & Mendelssohn: Symphonies (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1950–1953
studio (Schubert)and broadcasts + rehearsals (Mendelssohn) |
RCA Red Seal 74321 59480 (The Immortal, Vol. V) |
Brahms: The Four Symphonies (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1951-52 (studio) | RCA Red Seal 74321 55838 (The Immortal, Vol. IV) |
Great Symphonies (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1949-53 (all studio, except Schumann which is a broadcast) | RCA Red Seal 74321 59481 (The Immortal, Vol. VI) |
French Orchestral Music (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | RCA Red Seal | |
Wagner (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1949-52 (all studio, except Tannhäuser which is a broadcast) | RCA Red Seal 74321 59482 (The Immortal, Vol. VII) |
Orchestral Showpieces (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | RCA Red Seal | |
Brahms & Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1940–1941 | RCA Red Seal |
The Complete Concert of March 21, 1954
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1954 | Music & Arts |
The Final Concert – April 4, 1954
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1954 | Music & Arts |
Toscanini Collection, Vol 28 – Shostakovich, Prokofiev. Stravinsky
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1940–1951 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 38 - Gershwin, Grofé, Barber
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1942–1945 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 40 - Blue Danube Waltz, Etc.
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1938–1952 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 11 - Mozart Symphonies
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1938–1948 | RCA Gold Seal |
Beethoven: Fidelio (2 CD set)
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1944 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 20 – Franck & Saint-Saëns Symphonies
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | RCA Gold Seal | |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 35 – Elgar & Mussorgsky
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NBC Symphony Orchestra | 1951–1953 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 30 - Richard Strauss
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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RCA Gold Seal | |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 60 - Verdi: La Traviata
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1946 | RCA Gold Seal |
Toscanini Collection, Volume 62 - Boito, Verdi: Opera Excerpts
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1954 | RCA Gold Seal |
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Symphony No. 3
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NBC Symphony Orchestra
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1946–1948 | Music and Arts |
Beethoven, Mozart, Cherubini (2 CD set)
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BBC Symphony Orchestra
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1935–1939 | BBC |
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