IDAGIO | Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 - Richard Wagner: Parsifal, Prelude 3149028139297

Featuring

Arturo Toscanini
NBC Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Richard Wagner

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Arturo Toscanini conducted the world premieres of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (1892) and Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème (1896), as well as the Italian premiere of Richard Wagner's Die Götterdämmerung (1895).

Recording & Production

This album is a 'souvenir' concert celebrating Arturo Toscanini's 150th Anniversary.

Performer Biography

Arturo Toscanini, the conductor on this album, began his career as a cellist and made his conducting debut at age 19 by filling in for an absent conductor during a performance of Verdi's Aida in Brazil.

Compositional Technique

Mendelssohn incorporated two Protestant themes into his 'Reformation' Symphony: the hymn 'Ein' feste Burg is unser Gott' (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) and the 'Dresden Amen,' a sequence of rising chords.

Composition History

Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 'Reformation' was commissioned to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, a formal document approved by Martin Luther, but the celebrations were cancelled.

Performer Biography

The NBC Symphony Orchestra was established specifically for Arturo Toscanini in 1937 by David Sarnoff, head of NBC, and Toscanini served as its musical director for 17 years.

Performer Biography

Arturo Toscanini was staunchly opposed to fascism, leaving Italy in 1929 due to Mussolini's policies and refusing to attend the Bayreuth Festival in 1933 because of the Nazi regime.