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Editorial Reviews

Hard as it may be to believe, these are fabulous performances and fabulous recordings. Though the great Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini was well known for his work in the German symphonic literature and the Italian opera repertoire, his work with the French and English Romantics is much less known. But as these early '50s performances demonstrate, Toscanini was surprisingly at home with the French and English. His 1952 account of Saint-Saëns' "Organ Symphony" is elegant and dramatic, but never superficial or bombastic, while his 1951 reading of Elgar's "Enigma Variations" is noble and heartfelt but never glib or grandiloquent. In both works, the NBC Symphony plays with expertise and enthusiasm, giving Toscanini a tight ensemble with crisp articulation and buoyant rhythms. Perhaps even more surprisingly, these recordings sound vastly better than they ever have. The sound of the original LPs were recessed to the point of disappearing in quiet passages and constrained to the point of sounding like a full-sized symphony orchestra only in tuttis. But in Opus Kura's brilliant remastering, the recordings come alive with vibrant strings, vivid brass, and amazing presence. The entrance of the organ at the start of Saint-Saëns' Finale is just about palpable. James Leonard, All Music Guide

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