Opus Kura 7035, 64:08 (Distrib. Albany) ****:
Recorded at a live concert (15 November 1952) and issued as RCA LM 1874, the Toscanini Saint-Saens C Minor Symphony enjoyed much critical acclaim, with the added wish that the audience “might have coughed more often on the beat.” A model of protean architecture that employs the cyclic form, the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony conveys lyricism and pageantry at once, from its opening bars that imitate Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, to the mighty last movement, where organ, strings, tympani, flute, and pianos (in A and E) converge in grand, Lisztian harmony. This transfer, made from the HMV LP version of the Saint-Saens, proves less shrill than the American pressing, the fidelity now enriched so as to capture Toscanini’s relentless streamlining of the textures. Connoisseurs will savor the rich majesty of the organ in the second movement Poco adagio as well, and the massive rise of the melodic tissue to empyrean heights.
The Elgar Enigma certainly tries to steal the virtuosic thunder from the Saint-Saens, emerging as one of Toscanini’s most happy recordings from Carnegie Hall (10 December 1951). The smooth patina of the melodic line–again taken from HMV sources–its unbroken pulse throughout the variants, mark the performance as Toscanini’s in every bar. The noble filigree dazzles and charms without cloying, as Toscanini emphasizes the cello and bass fiddle lines to maintain the thematic thread. Mischa Mischakof shines in the Andantino “Ysobel” variant, accompanied by viola Carlton Cooley; the holy innocence of Nimrod expands gently out of the prior variant “W.N,” convincing us of its sincerity without Teutonic theatrics. Everywhere we can sense the Old Man exhorting the players, “Cantare!” since the sheer songfulness of the interpretation resonates foremost in this dazzling, eminently repeatable inscription. Sensational Toscanini at any price!
–Gary Lemco
