Toscanini live in London,1952

[Rach3]

I heard only the 3rd, my fav Brahms symphony. A rather relaxed reading here (? ) I think , compared to my recording by William Steinberg conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony, but I'll defer to the symphonists here:

Enregistré le 1/10/1952 au Royal Festival Hall, Londres

Johannes Brahms - Symphonie n°3 en fa majeur, op.90
- Symphonie n°4, en mi mineur, op.98

Philharmonia Orchestra
Arturo Toscanini

https://auvio.rtbf.be/media/concert-d-a ... es-3184626

[Lance]

Could these be the same performances that appeared on Testament 3167, 3 CDs, mono, recorded in London, 1952? Includes all four Brahms symphonies plus Haydn Variations and Tragic Overture. Strange as it seems given Toscanini's notariety as a conductor, few people seem to listen to his recordings these days. Given the plethora of all his recordings, just on RCA, EMI, New York Philharmonic Anniversary sets not to mention Guild, dell'Arte, AS Disc, APR, Naxos Historical ... it goes on an on.

[maestrob]

These are indeed old favorites. Toscanini did perform a Brahms cycle with the Philharmonia Orchestra in the summer of 1952. For some strange reason they were marketed for decades on pirate labels and eagerly sought after by yours truly. I picked up a set of CDs in the early 1990s, and have loved them ever since. There is so much more beauty and warmth in these performances than in the rather stiff RCA releases with the NBC Orchestra that these are my preferred listening, in spite of the firecrackers some idiots set off during the last movement of the Fourth Symphony.

I must acquire the Testament remastering of the EMI issue. Thanks for the reminder!