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| toscanini furtwangler: The Devil's Music Master Sam H. Shirakawa, 1992-07-02 From 1922 until his death in 1954, Wilhelm Furtwängler was the foremost cultural music figure of the German-speaking world, conductor of both the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. But a cloud still hangs over his reputation, despite his undeniable brilliance as a musician, because of a fatal and tragic decision. Wilhelm Furtwängler remained in Germany when thousands of intellectuals and artists fled after the Nazis seized power in 1933. His decision to stay behind earned him lasting condemnation as a Nazi collaborator--The Devil's Music Master. Decades after his death, Furtwängler remains for many not only the greatest but also the most controversial musical personality of our time. In The Devil's Music Master, Sam H. Shirakawa forges the first full-length and comprehensive biography of Furtwängler. He surveys Furtwängler's formative years as a difficult but brilliant prodigy, his rise to pre-eminence as Germany's leading conductor, and his development as a musician, composer, and thinker. Shirakawa also reviews the rich recorded legacy Furtwängler documented throughout his forty-year career--such as the legendary Tristan with Kirsten Flagstad and the famous performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1942 and 1951. Equally important, Shirakawa goes backstage and behind the lines to explore how the Nazis seized control of the arts and how Furtwängler single-handedly tried to prevent evil characters as Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and Luftwaffe Chief Hermann Göring from annihilating Germany's musical life. He shows how Furtwängler, far from being a toady to the Nazis, stood up openly against Hitler and Himmler--at enormous personal risk--to salvage the musical traditions of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Shirakawa also presents moving and overwhelming evidence of Furtwängler's astonishing efforts to save the lives of Jews and other persecuted individuals trapped in Nazi Germany--only to be proscribed at the end of the war and nearly framed as a war criminal. But there was more to Furtwängler than his politics, or even his music, and we come to know this extraordinary man as a reluctant composer, a prolific essayist and diary keeper, a loyal friend, a formidable enemy when crossed, and an incorrigible philanderer. Numerous musical luminaries share their memories of Furtwängler to round out this vivid portrait. Based on dozens of interviews and research in numerous documents, letters, and diaries, many of them previously unpublished, The Devil's Music Master is an in-depth look at the life and times of a unique personality whose fatal flaw lay in his uncompromising belief that music and art must be kept apart from politics, a conviction that transformed him into a tragic figure. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Classical Music In America Joseph Horowitz, 2005-03-15 Classical Music in America is a pioneering history by an award-winning scholar and leading authority on American symphonic culture. Joseph Horowitz argues that classical music in the United States is peculiarly performance-driven, and he traces a musical trajectory rising to its peak at the close of the nineteenth century and receding after World War I. He defines the decades of ascendancy as the quest for an American compositional voice, painting vivid vignettes of America's most celebrated performers and such pathbreaking institutions as the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. He explores a century of decline characterized by illustrious orchestras, conductors, and virtuosos, mostly foreign born, and in a final chapter he exposes a crisis of leadership and suggests new musical directions in our postmodern age. As with his acclaimed cultural histories, Horowitz here fashions a sweeping narrative--backed with personality and incident, textured by literature, sociology, and intellectual history--that freshly illuminates the American experience. 32 pages of illustrations. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Is There a Single Right Interpretation? Michael Krausz, 2007-08-09 Is there a single right interpretation for such cultural phenomena as works of literature, visual artworks, works of music, the self, and legal and sacred texts? In these essays, almost all written especially for this volume, twenty leading philosophers pursue different answers to this question by examining the nature of interpretation and its objects and ideals. The fundamental conflict between positions that universally require the ideal of a single admissible interpretation (singularism) and those that allow a multiplicity of some admissible interpretations (multiplism) leads to a host of engrossing questions explored in these essays: Does multiplism invite interpretive anarchy? Can opposing interpretations be jointly defended? Should competition between contending interpretations be understood in terms of (bivalent) truth or (multivalent) reasonableness, appropriateness, aptness, or the like? Is interpretation itself an essentially contested concept? Does interpretive activity seek truth or aim at something else as well? Should one focus on interpretive acts rather than interpretations? Should admissible interpretations be fixed by locating intentions of a historical or hypothetical creator, or neither? What bearing does the fact of the historical situatedness of cultural entities have on their identities? The contributors are Annette Barnes, Noël Carroll, Stephen Davies, Susan Feagin, Alan Goldman, Charles Guignon, Chhanda Gupta, Garry Hagberg, Michael Krausz, Peter Lamarque, Jerrold Levinson, Joseph Margolis, Rex Martin, Jitendra Mohanty, David Novitz, Philip Percival, Torsten Pettersson, Robert Stecker, Laurent Stern, and Paul Thom. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Virtuoso Conductors Raymond Holden, 2005-01-01 An expert's guide to the skills of the greatest conductors |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Great Orchestrator James M. Doering, 2013-02-15 This biography charts the career and legacy of the pioneering American music manager Arthur Judson (1881–1975), who rose to prominence in Philadelphia and New York at the beginning of the twentieth century. A violinist by training, Judson became manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1915 under the iconic conductor Leopold Stokowski. Within a few years, Judson also took on management of the New York Philharmonic, navigating a period of change and the tenures of several important conductors who included William Mengelberg, Arturo Toscanini, and John Barbirolli. Judson also began managing individual artists, including pianists Alfred Cortot and Vladimir Horowitz, violinist Jasha Heifetz, and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. He also organized the U.S. tours of several prominent composers, including Igor Stravinsky and Vincent d'Indy. At the same time, Judson began managing conductors. His first clients were Stokowski and Fritz Reiner. By the 1930s, Judson's conductor list included most of the important conductors working in America. Drawing on rich correspondence between Judson and the conductors and artists he served, James M. Doering demonstrates Judson's multifaceted roles, including involvement with programming choices, building audiences, negotiating with orchestra members and their unions, and exploring new technologies for extending the orchestras' reach. In addition to his colorful career behind the scenes at two preeminent American orchestras, Judson was important for a number of innovations in arts management. In 1922, he founded a nationwide network of local managers and later became involved in the relatively unexplored medium of radio, working first with WEAF in New York City and then later forming his own national radio network in 1927. Providing valuable insight into the workings of these orchestras and the formative years of arts management, The Great Orchestrator is a valuable portrait of one of the most powerful managers in American musical history. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Furtwängler Record John Ardoin, 1994 The Furtwangler Record is an attempt to analyze and explain this phenomenon, a study of Furtwangler's subjective, compelling, and creative style of music-making. The introductory Part One is devoted to an overview of Furtwangler's place in the mainstream of the German school of conducting, his career and personality, and the quality of his art. Part Two, the bulk of the book, consists of detailed, illuminating commentaries on each of his recorded performances. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Zubin Mehta Bakhtiar K Dadabhoy, 2017-04-17 Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey traces the nearly six-decade long, rich and uniquely varied career of the maestro. The only musician ever to simultaneously direct two major orchestras in North America, Mehta has worked with the most distinguished artistes of the last century. His extraordinary journey from Mumbai to some of the most prestigious podiums of the music world is a saga of genius and dedication. This meticulously researched authorized biography explores his life, musical legacy and association with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Engagingly written, it offers an insightful window into the life of one of the twentieth century’s greatest conductors. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Symphonic Repertoire, Volume IV A. Peter Brown, 2024-03-29 Central to the repertoire of Western art music since the 18th century, the symphony has come to be regarded as one of the ultimate compositional challenges. Surprisingly, heretofore there has been no truly extensive, broad-based treatment of the genre, and the best of the existing studies are now several decades old. In this five-volume series, A. Peter Brown explores the symphony from its 18th-century beginnings to the end of the 20th century. Synthesizing the enormous scholarly literature, Brown presents up-to-date overviews of the status of research, discusses any important former or remaining problems of attribution, illuminates the style of specific works and their contexts, and samples early writings on their reception. The Symphonic Repertoire provides an unmatched compendium of knowledge for the student, teacher, performer, and sophisticated amateur. The series is being launched with two volumes on the Viennese symphony. Volume IV The Second Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorák, Mahler, and Selected Contemporaries Although during the mid-19th century the geographic center of the symphony in the Germanic territories moved west and north from Vienna to Leipzig, during the last third of the century it returned to the old Austrian lands with the works of Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorák, and Mahler. After nearly a half century in hibernation, the sleeping Viennese giant awoke to what some viewed as a reincarnation of Beethoven with the first hearing of Brahms's Symphony No. 1, which was premiered at Vienna in December 1876. Even though Bruckner had composed some gigantic symphonies prior to Brahms's first contribution, their full impact was not felt until the composer's complete texts became available after World War II. Although Dvorák was often viewed as a nationalist composer, in his symphonic writing his primary influences were Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. For both Bruckner and Mahler, the symphony constituted the heart of their output; for Brahms and Dvorák, it occupied a less central place. Yet for all of them, the key figure of the past remained Beethoven. The symphonies of these four composers, together with the works of Goldmark, Zemlinsky, Schoenberg, Berg, Smetana, Fibich, Janácek, and others are treated in Volume IV, The Second Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony, covering the period from roughly 1860 to 1930. |
| toscanini furtwangler: New York Magazine , 1986-04-14 New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Bayreuth Frederic Spotts, 1994-01-01 Providing an overall account of the history of the Wagner festival, a critical analysis of its performers, productions, and enthusiasts establishes its remarkable beginnings, controversial associations, and surprising successes |
| toscanini furtwangler: A History of Orchestral Conducting Elliott W. Galkin, 1988 Although the bibliography of literature about personalities in the conducting world is extensive, a comprehensive, scholarly study of the history of conducting has been sorely lacking. Georg Schünemann's respected study, published in 1913, was brief and restricted to the procedures of time-beating. No work has attempted to examine the role of the orchestral conductor and to document the evolution of his art from historical, technical, and aesthetic perspectives. Dr. Elliott W. Galkin, musicologist, conductor, and critic-twice winner of the Deems Taylor award for distinguished writing about music-has produced such a work in A History of Orchestral Conducting. The central historical section of the book, which examines chronologically the theories and functions of time-beating and interpretative concepts of performance, is preceded by discussions of rhythm, development of the orchestral medium, and the evolving characteristics of orchestration. Conductors of unusual pivotal influence are examined in depth, as is the increasingly complex psychology of the podium. Critical writings since the time of Monteverdi and the birth of the orchestra are surveyed and compared. Analyses of conducting as an art and craft by musicians from Berlioz to Bernstein and commentators from Mattheson, Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Mann to Jacques Barzun, are described and discussed. A fascinating collection of engravings, wood cuts, photographs and caricatures contributes to the richness of this work. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Thresholds of Western Culture John Burt Foster, Jr., Wayne Froman, 2003-01-01 Thresholds of Western Culture explores identity, postcoloniality and transnationalism--three closely related issues which redefine contemporary cultural identity. The book opens with an analysis of subjectivity and the cultural meltdown that accompanied fascism in the West. The situation in Africa is then explored which, while recalling modernity's dark side, highlights the intricacy of postcolonial identity. Post-Soviet Eastern Europe presents a separate case of neglected postcoloniality which emphasizes how ethnocentrism and cultural tensions have exposed the fragility of transnationalism. The book concludes with an examination of East Asia, a region which offers transnational options potentially much more fruitful than Balkanization. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians Oscar Thompson, 1975 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Understanding Toscanini Joseph Horowitz, 1994-01-01 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 stance against Hitler and Mussolini and his cataclysmic tantrums, to his democratic penchants for television wrestling and soup for dinner. During his years with the Metropolitan Opera (1908-15) and the New York Philharmonic (1926-36) he was regularly proclaimed the world's greatest conductor . And with the NBC Symphony (1937-54), created for him by RCA's David Sarnoff, he became the beneficiary of a voracious multimedia promotional apparatus that spread Toscanini madness nationwide. According to Life, he was as well-known as Joe Dimaggio; Time twice put him on its cover; and the New York Herald Tribune attributed Toscanini's fame to simple recognition of his unique greatness. In this boldly conceived and superbly realized study, Joseph Horowitz reveals how and why Toscanini became the object of unparalleled veneration in the United States. Combining biography, cultural history, and music criticism, Horowitz explores the cultural and commercial mechanisms that created America's Toscanini cult and fostered, in turn, a Eurocentric, anachronistic new audience for old music. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Beethoven Michael Spitzer, 2017-07-05 Our image of Beethoven has been transformed by the research generated by a succession of scholars and theorists who blazed new trails from the 1960s onwards. This collection of articles written by leading Beethoven scholars brings together strands of this mainly Anglo-American research over the last fifty years and addresses a range of key issues. The volume places Beethoven scholarship within a historical and contemporary context and considers the future of Beethoven studies. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Gramophone , 2005 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Orchestra of Exiles Deluxe Josh Aronson, Denise George, 2016-04-05 The compelling biography of the violinist who founded the symphony that became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and saved hundreds of people from Hitler—as seen in Josh Aronson’s documentary Orchestra of Exiles. At fourteen, Bronislaw Huberman played the Brahms Violin Concerto in Vienna—winning high praise from the composer himself, sparking his legendary career as a musical superstar. But after witnessing the tragedy of World War I, Huberman joined the ranks of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein in calling for peace through the Pan-European Movement. When hope for their noble vision was destroyed by the rise of Nazism, Huberman began a crusade that would become his greatest legacy—the creation, in 1936, of the Palestine Symphony, which twelve years later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. This deluxe digital edition of Orchestra of Exiles features exclusive video extras, including an interview with author and filmmaker Josh Aronson, as well as scholars, renowned musicians and conductors including Itzhak Perlman, current members of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, and others who discuss the inspiration, impact, and historical context of Bronislaw Huberman's life-saving mission. Also included is the Orchestra of Exiles PBS movie trailer. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Orchestra of Exiles Josh Aronson, Denise George, 2016-04-05 The compelling biography of the violinist who founded the Palestine Symphony Orchestra and saved hundreds of people from Hitler—as seen in Josh Aronson’s documentary Orchestra of Exiles. “The true artist does not create art as an end in itself. He creates art for human beings. Humanity is the goal.”—Bronislaw Huberman At fourteen, Bronislaw Huberman played the Brahms Violin Concerto in Vienna— winning high praise from the composer himself, who was there. Instantly famous, Huberman began touring all over the world and received invitations to play for royalty across Europe. But after witnessing the tragedy of World War I, he committed his phenomenal talent and celebrity to aid humanity. After studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Huberman joined the ranks of Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein in calling for peace through the Pan European Movement. But when hope for their noble vision was destroyed by the rise of Nazism, Huberman began a crusade that would become his greatest legacy—the creation, in 1936, of the Palestine Symphony, which twelve years later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In creating this world-level orchestra, Huberman miraculously arranged for the very best Jewish musicians and their families to emigrate from Nazi-threatened territories. His tireless campaigning for the project—including a marathon fundraising concert tour across America—ultimately saved nearly a thousand Jews from the approaching Holocaust. Inviting the great Arturo Toscanini to conduct the orchestra’s first concert, Huberman’s clarion call of art over cruelty was heard around the world. His story contains estraordinary adventures, riches and royalty, politicians and broken promises, losses and triumphs. Against near impossible obstacles, Huberman refused to give up on his dream to create a unique and life-saving orchestra of exiles which was one of the great cultural achievements of the 20th century. Includes Photographs |
| toscanini furtwangler: A Musical Life Max Rudolf, 2001 This volume offers a collection of articles written by the renowned conductor and scholar Max Rudolf, together with a selection of his correspondence relating to material in the articles. Max Rudolf's conducting career spanned seventy years, from his first performances in l920-2l to his last in 1990. His life was devoted to performing, scholarship, and teaching. He conducted at the Metropolitan Opera from 1943 to 1937 and was Musical Director of the Cincinnati Symphony from 1938 to 1970, after which he combined guest conducting with teaching opera and conducting at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. The articles reflect a lifetime of thought on the art of conducting, musical style, and performance practice. Rudolf, known as an interpreter of the classical repertoire, freely shared his vast knowledge of Mozart's and Beethoven's scores with colleagues and students. His conducting book, The Grammar of Conducting, has been the leading college text in the field for many years. As such it has extended his influence on many generations of conductors. Throughout his life, Rudolf corresponded voluminously with other musicians. The letters included in this volume were selected because they shed a warm, personal light on the formal published articles thus providing an opportunity to share the mind and thoughts of an outstanding human bein |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Maestro Myth Norman Lebrecht, 2001 Nearly ten years after its original publication, The Maestro Myth continues to enthrall readers with its insightful look into the lives and careers of the world's most celebrated conductors. Now updated and including two new chapters, this volume portrays the politics and inflated economics surrounding the podiums of today's international classical music scene, and the obstacles faced by blacks, women, and gays. From Richard Strauss to Herbert von Karajan to Leonard Bernstein to Simon Rattle, The Maesto Myth examines the world of classical music and the mounting crisis in a profession where genuine talent grows ever scarcer. It is a must-have resource for music aficiionados as well as anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes lives of these music masters. Book jacket. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Great Wagner Conductors Jonathan Brown, 2014-01-30 This is the Ebook version of the award-winning Great Wagner Conductors published in 2012, now scarce in print. It contains corrections to the hardback edition, and remedies some omissions to the discographies. It also contains all 723 illustrations in the book, brilliantly illuminated, many showing the conductors at work. Some of these are rare, some are in colour. (These are not displayed in the free sample.) Great Wagner Conductors is the first in-depth study to bring the great historical Wagner conductors to life - through anecdote, their own views on Wagner’s music, reports of their performances throughout the world, and their recordings. There is a substantial introductory chapter on Wagner - what he was like as a conductor of his own works and what he wanted of his conductors – then follow chapters on Hans von Bülow, Hans Richter, Anton Seidl, Hermann Levi, Felix Mottl, Karl Muck, Artur Nikisch, Albert Coates, Gustav Mahler, Felix Weingartner, Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, Artur Bodanzky, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Fritz Busch, Erich Kleiber, Hans Knappertsbusch, Clemens Krauss, Karl Böhm, Richard Strauss, Otto Klemperer, and Fritz Reiner. Thousands of reviews of performances from many countries have been distilled to bring us as close as we can to knowing what the conductors were really like. There are comprehensive discographies setting out what the conductors recorded. Rare recordings are documented. There is comment on or excerpts from reviews of all the major recordings, and on many of the more obscure. A section on timings of actual and recorded performances, from Wagner onwards, reveals how widely practice has varied. There is a Select Bibliography, and an Index. The level of detail achieved is quite breathtaking, wrote David Patmore in Classical Recordings Quarterly reviewing the hardback, It extends to a vast arsenal of footnotes … as a resource they will be amazingly useful in a vast range of different contexts…. For anyone interested in conducting from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, and in particular the performance of Wagner, this book will be an essential acquisition. Its strength lies in the collection of so many different and varied contemporary reports of Wagner in performance from approximately 1850 to 1960. If this is where your interest lies, it will provide much fascinating reading. (Winter 2012). Great Wagner Conductors is a major contribution to the literature on this subject, wrote Gary Galo in the ARSC Journal, and belongs in the library of every serious Wagner enthusiast. (May 2013). The book was awarded an Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research in 2013. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Two Worlds of Music Berta Geissmar, 2022-08-01 In 'Two Worlds of Music,' Berta Geissmar masterfully weaves a narrative that mirrors the tensions and harmonies of the musical scores she explores. The book is an exploration of contrasting musical landscapes, analyzing how disparate styles and traditions intersect and inform one another. With a prose style that is both eloquent and accessible, Geissmar offers insights into the intricate world of classical and contemporary music, placing these forms within their broader sociocultural context. Her scholarship illuminates the text, making it an absorbing read for both music aficionados and those new to the subject. As a testament to its enduring relevance, DigiCat Publishing's meticulous reproduction of this work underscores its value in the canon of world literature. Berta Geissmar, a luminary in the world of music criticism, brings to this book a profound understanding born of her experiences and expertise. Her background as an intimate of the musical scene provides her with the unique capability to dissect and present the inner workings of the musical world. Geissmar's depth of knowledge, combined with her personal connections, lends an authenticity to her discourse that few can match. This title, a product of her rich professional journey, reflects a lifetime dedicated to the study and celebration of music in all its forms. Geissmar's 'Two Worlds of Music' is an essential read for anyone seeking to delve deeper into the world of music literature. Its detailed account and analysis invite readers to consider the nuances between varied musical realms, making it particularly well-suited for students, scholars, and enthusiasts keen to expand their understanding. The book's republishing by DigiCat Publishing offers a new generation of readers the chance to engage with Geissmar's insightful perspectives, ensuring the work's place as both a historical record and a source of ongoing inspiration in the world of music scholarship. |
| toscanini furtwangler: A Sound Tradition Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz, 2017-11-14 From Vienna into the World What would Vienna be without the Philharmonic? 175 years have passed since the founding of this world-class orchestra in March of 1842, 175 years in which the musicians have provided their public countless glorious musical experiences. Their inimitable and unmistakable sound has aroused truly rapturous enthusiasm everywhere. Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz tells us of the milestones in the Philharmonic's history—collaboration with great conductors, the special quality of the Viennese sound, the daily work of an international orchestra—and in so doing unearths memorable anecdotes from behind the scenes. With extensive illustrations and photographs from the Vienna Philharmonic archive |
| toscanini furtwangler: Hi Fi/stereo Review , 1961 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Black and Blur Fred Moten, 2017-11-16 Taken as a trilogy, consent not to be a single being is a monumental accomplishment: a brilliant theoretical intervention that might be best described as a powerful case for blackness as a category of analysis.—Brent Hayes Edwards, author of Epistrophies: Jazz and the Literary Imagination In Black and Blur—the first volume in his sublime and compelling trilogy consent not to be a single being—Fred Moten engages in a capacious consideration of the place and force of blackness in African diaspora arts, politics, and life. In these interrelated essays, Moten attends to entanglement, the blurring of borders, and other practices that trouble notions of self-determination and sovereignty within political and aesthetic realms. Black and Blur is marked by unlikely juxtapositions: Althusser informs analyses of rappers Pras and Ol' Dirty Bastard; Shakespeare encounters Stokely Carmichael; thinkers like Kant, Adorno, and José Esteban Muñoz and artists and musicians including Thornton Dial and Cecil Taylor play off each other. Moten holds that blackness encompasses a range of social, aesthetic, and theoretical insurgencies that respond to a shared modernity founded upon the sociological catastrophe of the transatlantic slave trade and settler colonialism. In so doing, he unsettles normative ways of reading, hearing, and seeing, thereby reordering the senses to create new means of knowing. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Furtwängler and America Daniel Gillis, 1970 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music in America from the Great War through the Cold War Jonathan Rosenberg, 2019-12-10 A Juilliard-trained musician and professor of history explores the fascinating entanglement of classical music with American foreign relations. Dangerous Melodies vividly evokes a time when classical music stood at the center of twentieth-century American life, occupying a prominent place in the nation’s culture and politics. The work of renowned conductors, instrumentalists, and singers—and the activities of orchestras and opera companies—were intertwined with momentous international events, especially the two world wars and the long Cold War. Jonathan Rosenberg exposes the politics behind classical music, showing how German musicians were dismissed or imprisoned during World War I, while numerous German compositions were swept from American auditoriums. He writes of the accompanying impassioned protests, some of which verged on riots, by soldiers and ordinary citizens. Yet, during World War II, those same compositions were no longer part of the political discussion, while Russian music, especially Shostakovich’s, was used as a tool to strengthen the US-Soviet alliance. During the Cold War, accusations of communism were leveled against members of the American music community, while the State Department sent symphony orchestras to play around the world, even performing behind the Iron Curtain. Rich with a stunning array of composers and musicians, including Karl Muck, Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Kirsten Flagstad, Aaron Copland, Van Cliburn, and Leonard Bernstein, Dangerous Melodies delves into the volatile intersection of classical music and world politics to reveal a tumultuous history of twentieth-century America. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Gramophone , 2005 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Winnie and Wolf A. N. Wilson, 2009-10-27 Winnie and Wolf is the story of the extraordinary friendship between Winifred Wagner and Adolf Hitler in the Years between the First and Second World Wars. The girl who would become Winifred Wagner was raised in an orphanage and married, at the age of eighteen, to the gay son of composer Richard Wagner. As heiress to the country's most august cultural legacy, she grows up in the Wagner family compound, surrounded by the philosophers and composers who would define western European culture in the mid-twentieth century. In 1923, the Wagners met the man who would be their hero and hope for the future: a wild-eyed Viennese opera fanatic named Adolf Hitler. Almost immediately Winnie and Wolf struck up an intimate friendship. In A. N. Wilson's most bold and ambitious novel yet, the world of the Weimar Republic comes to vivid life as the backdrop to this strange and powerful kinship. |
| toscanini furtwangler: By Violence Unavenged Annette Young, 2019-06-01 Australian violinist Phoebe Raye sees her dreams of romance and revenge dashed when Nazi Germany annexes Austria in 1938. Engaging first person account of Sydney and Vienna between the wars. Extras include book club discussion topics, recommended films, and further reading. BACK COVER Passionate young violinist Phoebe Raye pursues a deadly vendetta despite her father's warnings and her yearning for love and fulfilment. Leaving Sydney, Australia, Phoebe travels via Istanbul to Vienna, Austria and enters a cultured and complex society fraught with political tension and besieged by a malignant foreign aggressor. Witness to the unbridled hatred unleashed by the Anschluss as her own situation turns perilous, how will Phoebe resolve her mother’s death by violence unavenged? A poignant account of individual predicament amidst social turmoil, By Violence Unavenged is the first volume of In the Hearts of Kings, an epic trilogy exploring the perennial themes of justice and mercy, revenge and forgiveness. Pre-release praise for By Violence Unavenged ‘Extremely well researched, historically, musically and linguistically. Every chapter is full to the brim with action. A spectacular read.’ Christine McCarthy ‘Tremendous depth…akin to Tolstoy … the author has the story, the people, the world, entirely in hand.’ Warwick Adeney ‘A truly fine story and an enthralling read. Very much recommended!’ Regina Doman ‘Descriptive panache, engaging pace and memorable characters … clearly written by a musician, a kind of polyphonic saga, with the interweaving themes of war, history, suffering and the search for truth.’ Wanda Skowronska |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Wagner Clan Jonathan Carr, 2009-01-06 Examines the legacy of the German composer Richard Wagner and his descendants in terms of the rise, fall, and resurrection of Germany in modern Europe. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Guest List Ethan Mordden, 2010-09-28 From the 1920s to the early 1960s, Manhattan was America's beacon of sophistication. From the theatres of Broadway to the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel to tables at the Stork Club, intelligence and wit were the twinned coins of the realm. Alexander Woolcott, Irving Berlin, Edna Ferber, Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, the Lunts and Helen Hayes presided over the town. Their books, plays, performances, speeches, dinner parties, masked balls, loves, hates, likes and dislikes became the aspirations of a nation. If you wanted to be sophisticated, you played by Manhattan's rules. If you didn't, you simply weren't on the guest list. The Heartland rebelled against Manhattan's dictum, but never prevailed. In this lively cultural history, Mordden chronicles the city's most powerful and influential era. |
| toscanini furtwangler: The Newsletter of the Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of America Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of America, 1993 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Toscanini in Britain Christopher Dyment, 2012 This is the first book to describe Arturo Toscanini's activities - the life he led, his concerts and recording sessions - during his visits to London and elsewhere in Britain in the years 1900-1952. During the 1930s Arturo Toscanini conducted many concerts broadcast by the BBC from London's Queen's Hall, where he also made some unsurpassed recordings. Drawing on newly researched material in British and American archives, Christopher Dyment reveals how the most renowned and influential conductor of the twentieth century, notoriously microphone-shy though he was, came to conduct so frequently in London, a tale replete with unexpected twists, turns and ingenious stratagems. Toscanini's dominating influence on London critics and audiences in the period covered by the narrative, extending through to his final appearances at the Royal Festival Hall in 1952, is copiously documented from contemporary sources. Dyment also presents fresh evidence showing how the remarkable combination of passionate conviction and architectural mastery that characterised Toscanini's conducting was grounded not only in his obsessive study of the score but also in his awareness of performing traditions dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. This book will fascinate those with a particular interest in Toscanini's career and recorded legacy. It is also essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of conducting and recording in the first half of the twentieth century, set against the vividly evoked backdrop of London's concert scene of the period. This comprehensive study includes both an annotated table of all Toscanini's London concerts and his EMI discography. CHRISTOPHER DYMENT has written extensively about historic conductors since the 1970s, particularly Felix Weingartner and Arturo Toscanini. His first book, on Weingartner, was published in 1976. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Bruno Walter Erik Ryding, Rebecca Pechefsky, 2008-10-01 div Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This engrossing book is the first full-length biography of Walter to appear in English. Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky describe Walter’s early years in Germany, where his successes in provincial theaters led to positions at the Berlin State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. They then tell of his decade-long term as Bavarian music director and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt; his other positions in the musical community until he was ousted from Germany when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933; and his return to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the Opera House until he was again forced out by the Nazis. Finally they trace his career in the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras and in his last years made numerous recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble created especially for him. Ryding and Pechefsky are the first biographers to make extensive use of the thousands of unpublished letters in the Bruno Walter Papers, now in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. In addition to interviewing more than sixty people who knew Walter, they examined countless reviews to assess the popular and critical impact he had on his times. Authoritative and even-handed, this biography sheds new light on Walter, one of the great formative influences in musical interpretation. /DIV |
| toscanini furtwangler: Newsletter of the Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of America , 1997 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Wagner in Performance Jean-Jacques Nattiez, 1992-01-01 This book, addressed to both specialists and the opera-going public, brings together a team of acknowledged authorities from round the world to examine the performance history and reception of Wagner's works in Europe and America. A connected sequence of essays on conducting, singing, production and stage design explores the nature of Wagner's demands on his interpreters. The book raises questions about the realization of opera on the stage: about the authority of the composer vis-a-vis the director and the audience: about the sanctity of the text, score and stage directions; and about the role of art itself in society. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Musical Courier , 1922 Vols. for 1957-61 include an additional (mid-January) no. called Directory issue, 1st-5th ed. The 6th ed. was published as the Dec. 1961 issue. |
| toscanini furtwangler: Opinion , 1973 |
| toscanini furtwangler: Joining the Dots Steve Hobson, 2009-01-12 A guide for those who are new to classical music, nervous of it, or irritated by it. It suggests strategies for listening, provides a general history, and explores the mysteries of live performance. |
Arturo Toscanini - Wikipedia
Arturo Toscanini (/ ɑːrˈtʊəroʊ ˌtɒskəˈniːni /; Italian: [arˈtuːro toskaˈniːni]; March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor.
Arturo Toscanini | Maestro, NBC Symphony, Philharmoni…
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor, considered one of the great virtuoso conductors of the first half of the 20th century. Toscanini studied …
Toscanini’s Greatest Recorded Performances | Th…
Jul 6, 2017 · In this week’s magazine, I have an article about the conductor Arturo Toscanini, who was once one of the most celebrated musicians in the …
Arturo Toscanini - New World Encyclopedia
Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian musician. He is considered by many critics, fellow musicians, and much …
Toscanini, The Recorded Legend, Classical Notes, Pete…
Even today, thirty-five years after his death, Toscanini remains the supreme legend in classical music. Nearly every musician who ever played with him …
Arturo Toscanini - Wikipedia
Arturo Toscanini (/ ɑːrˈtʊəroʊ ˌtɒskəˈniːni /; Italian: [arˈtuːro toskaˈniːni]; March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor.
Arturo Toscanini | Maestro, NBC Symphony, Philharmonic
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor, considered one of the great virtuoso conductors of the first half of the 20th century. Toscanini studied at the conservatories of Parma and Milan, …
Toscanini’s Greatest Recorded Performances | The New Yorker
Jul 6, 2017 · In this week’s magazine, I have an article about the conductor Arturo Toscanini, who was once one of the most celebrated musicians in the world and who is now largely forgotten, …
Arturo Toscanini - New World Encyclopedia
Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian musician. He is considered by many critics, fellow musicians, and much of the classical listening audience to have been …
Toscanini, The Recorded Legend, Classical Notes, Peter Gutmann
Even today, thirty-five years after his death, Toscanini remains the supreme legend in classical music. Nearly every musician who ever played with him considered the experience to have …
A Life of Toscanini, Maestro With Passion and Principles
Jun 27, 2017 · In his new biography, “Toscanini: Musician of Conscience,” Harvey Sachs presents a demanding but tenderhearted genius who stood up to fascism and hate.
The enduring legacy of Arturo Toscanini: ‘a life force from a …
Jul 3, 2023 · ‘Toscanini was a classicist at heart, with a classicist’s love of light, logic, orderliness and physical beauty’
Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) - Mahler Foundation
Jan 6, 2015 · Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and of the 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his …
Arturo Toscanini - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arturo Toscanini. Arturo Toscanini (25 March 1867 – 16 January 1957) was an Italian conductor. Most musicians think he was the greatest conductor of his time. His fame was legendary: he …
Arturo Toscanini - Wikipedia
Fu uno dei più acclamati musicisti della fine del XIX e della prima metà del XX secolo, acquisendo fama internazionale anche grazie alle trasmissioni radiofoniche e televisive e alle numerose …
