Arturo Toscanini(1867-1957)
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Arturo Toscanini was the most celebrated conductor of his time,
considered by many to be the greatest conductor of the twentieth
century. He revolutionized musical interpretation by frequently
insisting that his orchestras play the music exactly as written, a
highly unusual practice in the nineteenth century, when Toscanini began
his career. He conducted the world premieres of such operas as
Puccini's "La Boheme" and "Turandot", and Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci".
During his lifetime and for a short while afterwards,he was revered by
critics (and still is by the older ones.) Today's younger critics,
however, tend to look down on him, and call his fidelity to the printed
score "lack of imagination" - a term which shows a total
misunderstanding of Toscanini's achievements.
