Search - Debussy, Toscanini, NBC :: La Mer / Iberia / Prelude to an Afternoon

The "La Mer" for Connoisseurs of Debussy

07/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This writer has a friend who is one of the foremost "Toscanini haters" he has ever known. For that individual, the old Italian Maestro could do almost nothing right. Nothing, save "La Mer"!The Toscanini recording of this great work was in his library from his early youth, and formed a conception of the work that has stood with him throughout four subsequent decades of listening. A devotee of the Boulez interpretation with the New Philharmonia, and the Karajan DGG version, he also considers the Toscanini to be a perfect recreation of the work, which he enjoys hearing occasionally while perusing the score.For this is the way to truly appreciate the Toscanini version. One may note an occasional deviation from the text: but, be aware that each detail was discussed at length with the composer himself, who regarded Toscanini's efforts to clarify the texture and "meaning" of complex passages as being models of creative interpretation. Thus, Toscanini is found to be -- shall we say -- a "moderate interventionist" and not an absolute literalist. But his changes and alterations are NOT capricious distentions of tempo or dynamics or phrasing (as are often found in the work of Mengelberg or Stokowski) but are aimed at clarifying some detail or another that would be submerged or muddy in most other performances.If one prefers the broader rhetoric of the valedictory live performance of 1953 (not available in decent sound, or in an "authorized" version), it is only by a small amount. Studio 8H never sounded as rich and open as it does here in this amazing artifact from 1950: only the separation of stereo is lacking, for there is registration of all possible octaves of highs and lows, and a wide dynamic range has been captured.Iberia is heard hear without the interpolated cut-in from a 1938 broadcast that marred the "approved" LP-era issue. The reading is a bit more tense than one heard in, say, 1948, 1953, or 1940 (the latter on a very interesting all-Debussy concert in a Naxos Historical issue, released outside the USA.) I would say that the Philadelphia Orchestra performance from 1941 is slightly preferable, but the sound does not have the transparency of the magnetic tape original of the present 1950 edition.During the LP era, there was no release of the Maestro's evocative reading of the "Prelude" which, if I am not mistaken, makes its first "official" appearance here: in a CD library of untold quantities of fine versions, it stands out for its purity, simplicity, and integrity. Forget about the calumnies of Toscanini as being a "fast" conductor who rushes through music: this richly recorded performance has admirable expression and phrasing that emphasizes the long melodic line.I am not nearly as enthusiastic about the 1952/48 live performances of the first two movements from the Nocturnes. As in the 1940 broadcast of Nuages, Toscanini plays the work quickly in this 1952 telecast, somewhat noncomittedly, and with literal phrasing that seems at times slightly pedestrian. There ARE differences: in 1940 he is more nuanced in tempo variations. The 1948 Studio 8H live broadcast of the Fetes was approved by the conductor for release with the companion Nuages (for some unaccountable reason the '52 Fetes was not favored); it lacks the mystery and grandeur found in performances by Ansermet, Stokowski, or Monteux. The matching of the Carnegie Hall and Studio 8H recordings has been effected magically so that one can scarcely tell the difference between the two sources (except in slight details of instrumental balance, especially in the wind section.)"

Wonders of the Phonograph

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 03/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Toscanini is simply unsurpassed in Debussy - I listened to this La Mer every sunset when I had a picture window looking straight out to the Golden Gate in the sixties, and life was very good indeed. If I had to keep only one classical record - and I have far too many - this would be the one. RCA's powers that be might as well also delete Caruso, then we'd know for sure they're pond scum - the right analogy I believe.

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Definitive Debussy

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 01/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra recorded Claude Debussy's "La Mer" and "Iberia" in NBC Studio 8-H in 1950, during recording sessions that were made without a studio audience. As with other late recording sessions in Toscanini's longtime broadcast venue, the results were much better without an audience present. Proper microphone placement resulted with remarkably clear sound and there was even some reverberation.



The performances themselves are absolutely brilliant. This writer first heard these recordings on the RCA Victrola vinyl LP release in the late 1960's and was quite impressed with them. For comparison, we can now listen to the recordings Toscanini made with the Philhadelphia Orchestra, in the early 1940's, in the Academy of Music. The earlier performances have less fidelity and, as with most of the Philadlephia recordings, suffer from the surface noise that resulted from poor mastering. In both cases, however, Toscanini clearly understood these haunting works with lush orchestrations and the results were captivating.



I often thought that Charles Munch's vintage RCA Victor stereo recording of "La Mer" was the best recorded; since it was recorded in stereo with the Boston Symphony, it does have better sound. Yet Toscanini's recording certainly comes close to matching the intensity that Munch achieved, particularly in the spectacular storm sequence that dominates the third movement.



These are very colorful works and Toscanini clearly demonstrates that he COULD conduct twentieth century music and do it well.

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