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Toscanini: Musician of Conscience
It may be difficult to imagine today, but Arturo Toscanini—recognized widely as the most celebrated conductor of the twentieth century—was once one of the most famous people in the world. Like Einstein in science or Picasso in art, Toscanini (1867–1957) transcended his own field, becoming a figure of such renown that it was often impossible not to see some mention of the maestro in the daily headlines.
Acclaimed music historian Harvey Sachs has long been fascinated with Toscanini’s extraordinary story. Drawn not only to his illustrious sixty-eight-year career but also to his countless expressions of political courage in an age of tyrants, and to a private existence torn between love of family and erotic restlessness, Sachs produced a biography of Toscanini in 1978. Yet as archives continued to open and Sachs was able to interview an ever-expanding list of relatives and associates, he came to realize that this remarkable life demanded a completely new work, and the result is Toscanini—an utterly absorbing story of a man who was incapable of separating his spectacular career from the call of his conscience.
Famed for his fierce dedication but also for his explosive temper, Toscanini conducted the world premieres of many Italian operas, including Pagliacci, La Boheme, and Turandot, as well as the Italian premieres of works by Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy. In time, as Sachs chronicles, he would dominate not only La Scala in his native Italy but also the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He also collaborated with dozens of star singers, among them Enrico Caruso and Feodor Chaliapin, as well as the great sopranos Rosina Storchio, Geraldine Farrar, and Lotte Lehmann, with whom he had affairs.
While this consuming passion constantly blurred the distinction between professional and personal, it did forge within him a steadfast opposition to totalitarianism and a personal bravery that would make him a model for artists of conscience. As early as 1922, Toscanini refused to allow his La Scala orchestra to play the Fascist anthem, "Giovinezza," even when threatened by Mussolini’s goons. And when tens of thousands of desperate Jewish refugees poured into Palestine in the late 1930s, he journeyed there at his own expense to establish an orchestra comprised of refugee musicians, and his travels were followed like that of a king.
Thanks to unprecedented access to family archives, Toscanini becomes not only the definitive biography of the conductor, but a work that soars in its exploration of musical genius and moral conscience, taking its place among the great musical biographies of our time.
Acclaimed music historian Harvey Sachs has long been fascinated with Toscanini’s extraordinary story. Drawn not only to his illustrious sixty-eight-year career but also to his countless expressions of political courage in an age of tyrants, and to a private existence torn between love of family and erotic restlessness, Sachs produced a biography of Toscanini in 1978. Yet as archives continued to open and Sachs was able to interview an ever-expanding list of relatives and associates, he came to realize that this remarkable life demanded a completely new work, and the result is Toscanini—an utterly absorbing story of a man who was incapable of separating his spectacular career from the call of his conscience.
Famed for his fierce dedication but also for his explosive temper, Toscanini conducted the world premieres of many Italian operas, including Pagliacci, La Boheme, and Turandot, as well as the Italian premieres of works by Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy. In time, as Sachs chronicles, he would dominate not only La Scala in his native Italy but also the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He also collaborated with dozens of star singers, among them Enrico Caruso and Feodor Chaliapin, as well as the great sopranos Rosina Storchio, Geraldine Farrar, and Lotte Lehmann, with whom he had affairs.
While this consuming passion constantly blurred the distinction between professional and personal, it did forge within him a steadfast opposition to totalitarianism and a personal bravery that would make him a model for artists of conscience. As early as 1922, Toscanini refused to allow his La Scala orchestra to play the Fascist anthem, "Giovinezza," even when threatened by Mussolini’s goons. And when tens of thousands of desperate Jewish refugees poured into Palestine in the late 1930s, he journeyed there at his own expense to establish an orchestra comprised of refugee musicians, and his travels were followed like that of a king.
Thanks to unprecedented access to family archives, Toscanini becomes not only the definitive biography of the conductor, but a work that soars in its exploration of musical genius and moral conscience, taking its place among the great musical biographies of our time.
944 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 31, 2017
Harvey Sachs's second Toscanini bio is no mere reworking of his 1978 version. Rather, this doubtlessly definitive work was augmented by 1,500 of the Maestro's letters (discovered in 1992), 100+ audio tapes of conversation (recorded sereptitiously by his son), previously unreleased archival material from La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic--plus the Mussolini regime's extensive Toscanini dossier, including transcribed telephone taps.
The book is long, both in biographical and musical detail. Some may be bored by the latter. But the information on singers, musicians, and conductors reflects the astonishing length of Toscanini's career:
"It is remarkable that a man who was already a professional conductor when Verdi and Brahms were still active was able to conduct their music on television."
Oh, and that first televised concert:
"[E]ven viewers who knew nothing at all about music could sense there was something noteworthy about Toscanini: a customer in a Greenwich Street tavern watched the concert and commented, in pure New-yorkese: 'He knows his onions, dat old boid. See the signals he got?'"
In truth, Toscanini was an undemonstrative concert conductor. Contrary to then practice, he worked his magic in 5-6 days of rehearsals per program, playing the piano score, and not hesitating to correct tempi or stage blocking. Normally, Toscanini first would rehearse a piece without stopping, then begin again, requesting necessary changes. Mostly, those being corrected found Maestro's shouted changes unpleasant--often, they were accompanied by insults. Yet, by opening day, virtually everyone was in tune--and on stage Toscanini mostly conducted not with his baton, but with his eyes. He never opened a score at performances: every note of each player or soloist already was memorized.
Players who began in terror ended extolling Toscanini's virtues. After Toscanini guest-conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, a musician wrote (emphasis in original):
"[T]he orchestra, with Toscanini, realized that this was the climax of every musician's experience. Not only because he was superior to other conductors--which was taken for granted; but because he made us *superior to ourselves*--which was the phenomenon that was practically unexplainable."
Opera divas loved Toscanini too. Literally. The Maestro carried on a series of short- and long-term affairs with many of his female singers until his early 80s (he died a few months shy of 90). His wife Carla knew, and there was tension (they had three children). But Carla occasionally took her revenge, such as the night she seated five of Toscanini's current or former paramours around his end of the table at a dinner party for 20.
Back when Mussolini was a socialist, Toscanini let his name be sixth on the candidates list--even then, the party symbol was the Roman Fasces. The whole slate lost, and the far-left Toscanini quickly broke with Mussolini as the latter lurched right. Oddly, however, Toscanini remained good friends with the author/poet/aviator/proto-Fascist Gabriele D'Annunzio until the latter's death. Sachs remains curiously un-curious about this contradiction.
Outside of that, Toscanini was staunchly anti-Fascist, bailing from Bayreuth once Hitler took power, and slashing ties with the Salzburg Festival after the Anschluss, outraged by the Nazis' treatment of Jews. Following the war, he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to needy Italian musicians and singers, and contributed to rebuilding La Scala--in part by waiving conducting fees in benefit performances.
Toscanini was no saint: in addition to adultery, he could be outspoken and downright nasty. Yet what an artist--and what a musical memory. Although his posthumous reputation has suffered because of the absence of high-quality, stereo recordings, every contemporary musician or music-lover (Hitler perhaps included--one illustration is a note from the German Chancellor begging Toscanini to return to Germany) thought him the finest pre-modern-music era conductor. Sachs's book brings this sparkling, sassy man to life, and makes his contributions to musicianship comprehensible.
The book is long, both in biographical and musical detail. Some may be bored by the latter. But the information on singers, musicians, and conductors reflects the astonishing length of Toscanini's career:
"It is remarkable that a man who was already a professional conductor when Verdi and Brahms were still active was able to conduct their music on television."
Oh, and that first televised concert:
"[E]ven viewers who knew nothing at all about music could sense there was something noteworthy about Toscanini: a customer in a Greenwich Street tavern watched the concert and commented, in pure New-yorkese: 'He knows his onions, dat old boid. See the signals he got?'"
In truth, Toscanini was an undemonstrative concert conductor. Contrary to then practice, he worked his magic in 5-6 days of rehearsals per program, playing the piano score, and not hesitating to correct tempi or stage blocking. Normally, Toscanini first would rehearse a piece without stopping, then begin again, requesting necessary changes. Mostly, those being corrected found Maestro's shouted changes unpleasant--often, they were accompanied by insults. Yet, by opening day, virtually everyone was in tune--and on stage Toscanini mostly conducted not with his baton, but with his eyes. He never opened a score at performances: every note of each player or soloist already was memorized.
Players who began in terror ended extolling Toscanini's virtues. After Toscanini guest-conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, a musician wrote (emphasis in original):
"[T]he orchestra, with Toscanini, realized that this was the climax of every musician's experience. Not only because he was superior to other conductors--which was taken for granted; but because he made us *superior to ourselves*--which was the phenomenon that was practically unexplainable."
Opera divas loved Toscanini too. Literally. The Maestro carried on a series of short- and long-term affairs with many of his female singers until his early 80s (he died a few months shy of 90). His wife Carla knew, and there was tension (they had three children). But Carla occasionally took her revenge, such as the night she seated five of Toscanini's current or former paramours around his end of the table at a dinner party for 20.
Back when Mussolini was a socialist, Toscanini let his name be sixth on the candidates list--even then, the party symbol was the Roman Fasces. The whole slate lost, and the far-left Toscanini quickly broke with Mussolini as the latter lurched right. Oddly, however, Toscanini remained good friends with the author/poet/aviator/proto-Fascist Gabriele D'Annunzio until the latter's death. Sachs remains curiously un-curious about this contradiction.
Outside of that, Toscanini was staunchly anti-Fascist, bailing from Bayreuth once Hitler took power, and slashing ties with the Salzburg Festival after the Anschluss, outraged by the Nazis' treatment of Jews. Following the war, he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to needy Italian musicians and singers, and contributed to rebuilding La Scala--in part by waiving conducting fees in benefit performances.
Toscanini was no saint: in addition to adultery, he could be outspoken and downright nasty. Yet what an artist--and what a musical memory. Although his posthumous reputation has suffered because of the absence of high-quality, stereo recordings, every contemporary musician or music-lover (Hitler perhaps included--one illustration is a note from the German Chancellor begging Toscanini to return to Germany) thought him the finest pre-modern-music era conductor. Sachs's book brings this sparkling, sassy man to life, and makes his contributions to musicianship comprehensible.
September 26, 2017
The Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) lived a long, productive, and successful life, and Harvey Sachs seems to catch every minute. From Toscanini's first successes at La Scala to his late-life triumph with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, every detail of the conductor's life is captured. Much of Sachs’ work is based on Toscanini’s letters, which Sachs edited and published some years ago.
I was exposed to Toscanini early, in the form of my parent’s set of the complete Beethoven Symphonies with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Reading the book, I’ve been delighted to come across many of Toscanini’s recordings on Apple Music, particulary his live opera recordings. We have to consider ourselves fortunate to have his recording of Verdi’s Falstaff, a work which he loved and of which he should be considered the authority, given his relationship with the composer.
It’s interesting to compare Toscanini to Gustav Mahler, who in addition to being a composer was also a conductor, most notably of the Vienna State Opera. Mahler, a Jew, was harassed and hounded by the anti-Semitic Viennese press. Toscanini was treated very well in the press until the rise of Fascism in Italy, when Toscanini’s anti-Fascist views opened him up to attacks in the Fascist press.
Sachs is not shy about detailing Toscanini’s countless affairs—when the man wasn’t conducting, he was invariably in bed with someone other than his wife, to whom he was married until her death. Amazing man, a rich life, and a wonderful though incredibly long book.
I was exposed to Toscanini early, in the form of my parent’s set of the complete Beethoven Symphonies with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Reading the book, I’ve been delighted to come across many of Toscanini’s recordings on Apple Music, particulary his live opera recordings. We have to consider ourselves fortunate to have his recording of Verdi’s Falstaff, a work which he loved and of which he should be considered the authority, given his relationship with the composer.
It’s interesting to compare Toscanini to Gustav Mahler, who in addition to being a composer was also a conductor, most notably of the Vienna State Opera. Mahler, a Jew, was harassed and hounded by the anti-Semitic Viennese press. Toscanini was treated very well in the press until the rise of Fascism in Italy, when Toscanini’s anti-Fascist views opened him up to attacks in the Fascist press.
Sachs is not shy about detailing Toscanini’s countless affairs—when the man wasn’t conducting, he was invariably in bed with someone other than his wife, to whom he was married until her death. Amazing man, a rich life, and a wonderful though incredibly long book.
July 24, 2017
Toscanini had a fascinating life. That part I loved.
The blow-by-blow of seemingly every concert he ever gave, not so much. It's too much detail, and ends up obscuring the grander sweep of his life story.
The blow-by-blow of seemingly every concert he ever gave, not so much. It's too much detail, and ends up obscuring the grander sweep of his life story.
October 24, 2024
What a person! It's such a pity that he's not as famous now, but back then this guy is the GOAT of conductors. His collosal memory enables him to conduct entire operas and symphonies from memory, correcting string players on little details that only he could notice. His style is often characterized as tidy, rational, and unromantic but it can't be further from the truth. This Harvey Sachs biography covers Toscanini's life in all its minute details. At times a bit of a bore because many names are no longer recognizable, but many parts are a delight, especially his interactions with famous personages e.g. Mussolini, Hitler, Einstein. I admire his moral stance against the dangers of fascism, his commitment and hard work in music (he worked until his late 80s until he couldn't read music score), and his generosity. There are many parts of his personality that made him difficult to live with, such as his frequent marital infidelities, stubborn and easily angered, rough and dictatorial towards his orchestra. All in all, a great biography and made me interested to explore more of Toscanini's discography.
February 20, 2021
Arturo Toscanini “was able to memorize scores after a single reading, he could do the same with poetry, plays, opera libretti – virtually anything.” He could sightread a piece and then remember it. Cello was his instrument but on piano he could “play even the most complex orchestral scores at the keyboard, at sight. As conductor, “He not only knew every note and every expression mark in every score that he conducted; he also heard every detail.” At his first rehearsals at the Metropolitan, Toscanini asked the soprano why she didn’t phrase “a few phrases” the same way she did at Bayreuth in 1899. Toscanini one day studied the Dukas score for Ariane et Berbe-bleue and “the next morning he was going to take the first rehearsal – from memory.” Toscanini never thought Mussolini would have gone from extreme left to extreme right, moving from persuasion to violence. “In the early months of the Fascist administration, Italy remained a democratic country: Mussolini was too canny a politician to try to make radical systemic changes immediately.”
Public jet travel only begins after Toscanini’s career ends. Toscanini is the conductor who changes opera when he stops operatic encores, and starts keeping the auditorium dark so elite douchebags don’t talk as much during performances. T’s daunting rehearsal schedule: 11AM to 4:30PM and 8:30PM to Midnight. Toscanini said, “I never compromised, never, never! And I was right, wasn’t I?” A cellist needs to acquaint themselves with the cello studies of Grutzmacher, Servais and Duport, as Toscaninni did. For him, the hardest thing was to find a singer who could do justice to Norma. Verdi was Italy’s most beloved citizen. When he lay dying, straw was placed on all nearby streets to Verdi to ease his suffering, by Milan’s mayor (imagine horse drawn carriages and trams). Doing Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, T told the soprano, “mad people stare straight ahead of themselves before they speak.” During Verdi rehearsals he said, “That’s it! La Traviata needs emotion.”
When Toscanini met Debussy for the first time, they “looked at each other for a long moment and, silent with emotion, fell into each other’s arms.” At the dawn of recording, instead of orchestrally using your double basses you used a tuba so that the line could be heard with early recording gear. T hated the early recording medium’s dynamic range. Once when T didn’t like the musicians, he said, “Where did you find these guys? At the morgue?” Toscanini once told an opera singer she had to breathe after every syllable on Rigoletto’s “Caro nome” because she is supposed to breathless in love for the first time. So, Billie Ellish’s Bad Guy phrasing is really an homage to Verdi’s “Caro nome”. Duh!
Toscanini appears to have been pretty much a sex addict and this book is filled with his many boring extramarital hookup stories. Apparently, our Arturo got more ass than a la Scala toilet seat. From one lady, he demands she send her menstrual blood “since I can’t quench my thirst directly at the delightful fount.” Charming. When the original Mr. T asked for “tiny flowers from your little garden” he meant a woman should send him some public hair. Well, okay now. After having memorized more beautiful romantic arias and poems than any human alive, it boggles the mind that he wrote to some woman in 1920, “I am dying and lusting for every part nook – crevice [remember this was before Thomas’s English Muffins. – ed] – hole - holy hole of your lovely person.” He sounds like a stuttering pedophile priest.
After Toscanini conducts La Mer in Paris, Ravel tells his friend next to him, “You know, even though its not Debussy’s best work, it is the one that opened the way for all of us.”
Toscanini is famous for his moral stand against fascism, Hitler and Mussolini. He signed a postcard, “Arturo Toscanini anti-Fascist.” Toscanini had received a silver medal for valor playing in a war zone for Italy. He said, “I feel that every person has the freedom to believe as they will.” In this alone, he was a great inspiration to Daniel Barenboim. I end with these great moral words said by Toscanini, “Everyone ought to express his own opinion honestly and courageously – then dictators, criminals wouldn’t last so long.”
If you are going to read a book on Toscanini, don’t read this one first. Instead read “The Real Toscanini” by Cesare Civetta, or George Richard Marek’s, “Toscanini”. Both of those books recount part of the most amazing musical memory feat know: Toscanini with the bassoonist with the broken key. I can’t believe this book didn’t include that jaw-dropping story. Anyway, it was a pretty good book on him as you can tell from all the stories I just gave you.
Public jet travel only begins after Toscanini’s career ends. Toscanini is the conductor who changes opera when he stops operatic encores, and starts keeping the auditorium dark so elite douchebags don’t talk as much during performances. T’s daunting rehearsal schedule: 11AM to 4:30PM and 8:30PM to Midnight. Toscanini said, “I never compromised, never, never! And I was right, wasn’t I?” A cellist needs to acquaint themselves with the cello studies of Grutzmacher, Servais and Duport, as Toscaninni did. For him, the hardest thing was to find a singer who could do justice to Norma. Verdi was Italy’s most beloved citizen. When he lay dying, straw was placed on all nearby streets to Verdi to ease his suffering, by Milan’s mayor (imagine horse drawn carriages and trams). Doing Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, T told the soprano, “mad people stare straight ahead of themselves before they speak.” During Verdi rehearsals he said, “That’s it! La Traviata needs emotion.”
When Toscanini met Debussy for the first time, they “looked at each other for a long moment and, silent with emotion, fell into each other’s arms.” At the dawn of recording, instead of orchestrally using your double basses you used a tuba so that the line could be heard with early recording gear. T hated the early recording medium’s dynamic range. Once when T didn’t like the musicians, he said, “Where did you find these guys? At the morgue?” Toscanini once told an opera singer she had to breathe after every syllable on Rigoletto’s “Caro nome” because she is supposed to breathless in love for the first time. So, Billie Ellish’s Bad Guy phrasing is really an homage to Verdi’s “Caro nome”. Duh!
Toscanini appears to have been pretty much a sex addict and this book is filled with his many boring extramarital hookup stories. Apparently, our Arturo got more ass than a la Scala toilet seat. From one lady, he demands she send her menstrual blood “since I can’t quench my thirst directly at the delightful fount.” Charming. When the original Mr. T asked for “tiny flowers from your little garden” he meant a woman should send him some public hair. Well, okay now. After having memorized more beautiful romantic arias and poems than any human alive, it boggles the mind that he wrote to some woman in 1920, “I am dying and lusting for every part nook – crevice [remember this was before Thomas’s English Muffins. – ed] – hole - holy hole of your lovely person.” He sounds like a stuttering pedophile priest.
After Toscanini conducts La Mer in Paris, Ravel tells his friend next to him, “You know, even though its not Debussy’s best work, it is the one that opened the way for all of us.”
Toscanini is famous for his moral stand against fascism, Hitler and Mussolini. He signed a postcard, “Arturo Toscanini anti-Fascist.” Toscanini had received a silver medal for valor playing in a war zone for Italy. He said, “I feel that every person has the freedom to believe as they will.” In this alone, he was a great inspiration to Daniel Barenboim. I end with these great moral words said by Toscanini, “Everyone ought to express his own opinion honestly and courageously – then dictators, criminals wouldn’t last so long.”
If you are going to read a book on Toscanini, don’t read this one first. Instead read “The Real Toscanini” by Cesare Civetta, or George Richard Marek’s, “Toscanini”. Both of those books recount part of the most amazing musical memory feat know: Toscanini with the bassoonist with the broken key. I can’t believe this book didn’t include that jaw-dropping story. Anyway, it was a pretty good book on him as you can tell from all the stories I just gave you.
November 8, 2021
This biography was excellent! I admittedly was not very familiar with Toscanini’s life, but this book was chock full of information about both the man and the music and I learned so much from reading. The author drew heavily on newly discovered writings and recordings and I enjoyed reading about some events in Toscanini’s own words. It’s a very long and dense read, but it’s engaging and very readable.
December 14, 2017
Full disclosure. I did not finish the book although I skimmed the 2nd half. I was more interested in the man; opera was a secondary interest. I think you need to be really interested in the opera world in all its facets to enjoy this book. I found that I got tired of reading about all the productions, what was performed each season in every city, all the details about the singers, etc. I felt it really weighed down the book. I did read his book on Beethoven but that really appealed to me because I was more interested in the music itself as well as it’s creator.
November 22, 2017
Toscanini – Musician of Conscience, is obviously a labour of love for Harvey Sachs, who must have devoted many years in researching and writing the present volume. This is an important book that should be read by many. Sachs’ book is more than a mere life story of a great musician, but also a glimpse into the musical culture of our recent past, thoughts about the role of an artist in society, and a history of the development of music in our society.
It is also, for those interested, a darn good read.
It is also, for those interested, a darn good read.
September 11, 2017
Arturo!
February 5, 2018
Not being a music scholar I tend to review large biographies like this more on their ability to engage me in subjects' lives and times more than a consideration of the merits of the author's work from an academic point of view. This book was extraordinarily successful in this sense. I found myself greatly admiring the Maestro for his energy, his commitment to his art, his progressive politics, and his overall leadership as director and conductor. These qualities greatly outweigh the negatives. I have little concern that he was not long on modern or American music. (At the age of 70 I find hip-hop a bit of a stretch.) Nor am I concerned about his tough treatment of orchestra members or other performers. In large measure they felt enriched by the experience and felt quite close to the Maestro. In this sense he may have been the "Vince Lombardi" of musical directors. As to his dalliances, which are far too numerous to mention, none seemed to entail coercion and in fact in many cases he was sought out by paramours. Though I found many of the relations to be almost adolescent and at times humorous I can't but admire the energy of an octogenarian pursuing a 30 year old soprano. Not forgivable though was his callous treatment of his wife Carla, who accepting of his exploits did not deserve shaming created by his overtness. There was a blind side to his personal relationships, fed by his self-centeredness that many will rightly condemn.
Now, as to the positives. His energy was not just evident in maintaining an exceptionally demanding and rigorous schedule but also in persevering through physical ailments (shoulder problems). Even into his seventies he maintained a rigorous schedule with the NBC orchestra.
Commitment to his art is to me his most interesting trait. Not only did he strive for musical perfection but he strove to conduct the music as written/intended by the composer. Toscanini reminds me of an American jurist trying to interpret The Constitution, wading through the written notes and musical accents, to determine its true meaning, but never willing to sacrifice that effort to practical circumstances.
His opposition to Fascism was unwavering even though it put him and his family at risk. He expended without reference to its implications large portions of his personal finances to save victims of Hitler and Mussolini--musicians and others. Both during and after the war he conducted benefit concerts for the US Bonds and the Red Cross. After the war, while performing in the south he refused to play Dixie. He was unable to forgive old friends who either bought the Nazi Kool-aid or tolerated it in the name of personal gain. This resulted in some personal loss--including the end of his friendship with Wagner's daughter-in-law with whom Toscanini had previously re-constitute the Bayreuth Festival, and conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler who benefitted by taking over positions Toscanini rejected because of required Nazi acceptance.
I often have arguments with my friends about sports coaches whom I admire (eg., Nick Saban, and Urban Meyer) whose demands for excellence often seem harsh. Toscanini was similarly demanding, at times throwing objects and insults at under performing musicians. On the other hand, he often coached singers and orchestra members to achieve performances that required the most of their abilities. All that said, the measure of a coach or conductor is not how I or my friends feel but how but how their players/musicians respond. The overwhelming respect and in some cases love with which Toscanini was held by his orchestra members and singers is testimony to his leadership.
Lastly there is one among several of the artistic points mentioned that were of interest to me. This has to do with Toscanini's initial difficulty with Mozart. Sachs seems to imply that the ambiguity in Mozart (at times you don't know whether to be stricken with laughter or horror) was problematic for the Maestro. While this is discussed in the context of the Queen of the Night aria, a better example might have been Don Giovani, whose exploits were to some degree mirrored by the Maestro himself. In contemporary terms this distinction is best evident by two films currently up for Academy Awards--The Post, where any dullard can contemplate the emotional implications of any scene and Phantom Thread which require some thought on the part of the viewer. (To me the best example of Mozart on screen is the diner scene in Pulp Fiction.)
One can easily find some of his later performances on-line--among these Verdi's Hymn of Nations played after the allied victory on World War II as well as pieces by Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven, Debussy, Brahms, Schubert and Strauss (See David Denby's review in the July 6 New Yorker for a complete list), it is an unrecorded performance that is most moving to me: Va Pensiero sung just before his coffin was entombed by the combined choruses of La Scala, Milan Conservatory and Radio Italiano. Wouldn't that have been something to have heard?
Now, as to the positives. His energy was not just evident in maintaining an exceptionally demanding and rigorous schedule but also in persevering through physical ailments (shoulder problems). Even into his seventies he maintained a rigorous schedule with the NBC orchestra.
Commitment to his art is to me his most interesting trait. Not only did he strive for musical perfection but he strove to conduct the music as written/intended by the composer. Toscanini reminds me of an American jurist trying to interpret The Constitution, wading through the written notes and musical accents, to determine its true meaning, but never willing to sacrifice that effort to practical circumstances.
His opposition to Fascism was unwavering even though it put him and his family at risk. He expended without reference to its implications large portions of his personal finances to save victims of Hitler and Mussolini--musicians and others. Both during and after the war he conducted benefit concerts for the US Bonds and the Red Cross. After the war, while performing in the south he refused to play Dixie. He was unable to forgive old friends who either bought the Nazi Kool-aid or tolerated it in the name of personal gain. This resulted in some personal loss--including the end of his friendship with Wagner's daughter-in-law with whom Toscanini had previously re-constitute the Bayreuth Festival, and conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler who benefitted by taking over positions Toscanini rejected because of required Nazi acceptance.
I often have arguments with my friends about sports coaches whom I admire (eg., Nick Saban, and Urban Meyer) whose demands for excellence often seem harsh. Toscanini was similarly demanding, at times throwing objects and insults at under performing musicians. On the other hand, he often coached singers and orchestra members to achieve performances that required the most of their abilities. All that said, the measure of a coach or conductor is not how I or my friends feel but how but how their players/musicians respond. The overwhelming respect and in some cases love with which Toscanini was held by his orchestra members and singers is testimony to his leadership.
Lastly there is one among several of the artistic points mentioned that were of interest to me. This has to do with Toscanini's initial difficulty with Mozart. Sachs seems to imply that the ambiguity in Mozart (at times you don't know whether to be stricken with laughter or horror) was problematic for the Maestro. While this is discussed in the context of the Queen of the Night aria, a better example might have been Don Giovani, whose exploits were to some degree mirrored by the Maestro himself. In contemporary terms this distinction is best evident by two films currently up for Academy Awards--The Post, where any dullard can contemplate the emotional implications of any scene and Phantom Thread which require some thought on the part of the viewer. (To me the best example of Mozart on screen is the diner scene in Pulp Fiction.)
One can easily find some of his later performances on-line--among these Verdi's Hymn of Nations played after the allied victory on World War II as well as pieces by Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven, Debussy, Brahms, Schubert and Strauss (See David Denby's review in the July 6 New Yorker for a complete list), it is an unrecorded performance that is most moving to me: Va Pensiero sung just before his coffin was entombed by the combined choruses of La Scala, Milan Conservatory and Radio Italiano. Wouldn't that have been something to have heard?
July 16, 2025
About twenty years ago I bought a biography of Wolfgang A. Mozart. I read only about half of it because the author went into far too much detail on how Mozart created his beautiful music.
I bought TOSCANINI because
1. I love music. I majored in voice in college and music has been a constant presence in my life for many years;
2. I have a vague memory of Toscanini through his work with the NBC Symphony Orchestra;
3. I enjoy opera and I read a book about the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City that devoted a full chapter on Toscanini.
I was not disappointed in TOSCANINI. Yes, it is a long book --- about 850 Kindle pages --- but there are so many facets to the Maestro's life that I didn't find any of it to be boring. Indeed, Toscanini was a complex man, wonderfully skilled and principled but with foibles that show the readers that he was blessed with infinite grace from his family. His stand against Fascism, Mussolini, and Hitler cost him friends and position but he would not bend.
How blessed we are to have film of his conducting which can be seen on YouTube. I've watched some of them and have not seen him take his eyes off the orchestra or singers. Stories of his musical memory are legendary.
This book is not for everyone, but music lovers should enjoy it.
Four stars waxing
I bought TOSCANINI because
1. I love music. I majored in voice in college and music has been a constant presence in my life for many years;
2. I have a vague memory of Toscanini through his work with the NBC Symphony Orchestra;
3. I enjoy opera and I read a book about the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City that devoted a full chapter on Toscanini.
I was not disappointed in TOSCANINI. Yes, it is a long book --- about 850 Kindle pages --- but there are so many facets to the Maestro's life that I didn't find any of it to be boring. Indeed, Toscanini was a complex man, wonderfully skilled and principled but with foibles that show the readers that he was blessed with infinite grace from his family. His stand against Fascism, Mussolini, and Hitler cost him friends and position but he would not bend.
How blessed we are to have film of his conducting which can be seen on YouTube. I've watched some of them and have not seen him take his eyes off the orchestra or singers. Stories of his musical memory are legendary.
This book is not for everyone, but music lovers should enjoy it.
Four stars waxing
March 25, 2023
As a reference work, 5 stars. Meticulously researched, documented and reported. It's difficult to imagine that this work will be other than the last word in primary source information for some time to come.
As entertainment, caution is advised. It is rather like reading the prose version of a catalogue of engagements, noting every engagement in every season, year on year, of which there were many for a man who conducted from his mid-teens to his mid-eighties. Trysts are likewise catalogued. The fact that he did tick is faithfully reported. Concerning what made him tick, the reader must infer.
It's worthwhile to note that this volume does at times provide a ring-side seat for the unpleasantness of the totalitarianism that visited the world in the mid-twentieth century. Though ugly, it is a lesson that we should be reminded of regularly. The man himself stayed true to his principles throughout while others stayed quiet or just conformed. Would we have been as strong?
As entertainment, caution is advised. It is rather like reading the prose version of a catalogue of engagements, noting every engagement in every season, year on year, of which there were many for a man who conducted from his mid-teens to his mid-eighties. Trysts are likewise catalogued. The fact that he did tick is faithfully reported. Concerning what made him tick, the reader must infer.
It's worthwhile to note that this volume does at times provide a ring-side seat for the unpleasantness of the totalitarianism that visited the world in the mid-twentieth century. Though ugly, it is a lesson that we should be reminded of regularly. The man himself stayed true to his principles throughout while others stayed quiet or just conformed. Would we have been as strong?
December 3, 2024
Harvey Sachs has devoted his life to writing about Toscanini. I thank him for his dedication. Toscanini certainly deserves a genius of a lifetime award.
I am one of the lucky people who loves great music and listens to it every day . For the past 15 years, I have owned a complete box set of Toscanini's work but was not ready to listen to them in sequence until this autumn.
In my opinion, he communicated directly without cables to the minds and spirit of all the composers he interpreted with the major aid of his supremely gifted instrumentalists. Hearing Toscanini's interpretations of great works is like flying on the wings of a giant bird, otherworldly and perfection.
So: I had to know more about him as I was steadily hearing his music. Sachs gives us a 900 page uncensored rendering of the trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows of Toscanini's 90 years on this earth.
I am one of the lucky people who loves great music and listens to it every day . For the past 15 years, I have owned a complete box set of Toscanini's work but was not ready to listen to them in sequence until this autumn.
In my opinion, he communicated directly without cables to the minds and spirit of all the composers he interpreted with the major aid of his supremely gifted instrumentalists. Hearing Toscanini's interpretations of great works is like flying on the wings of a giant bird, otherworldly and perfection.
So: I had to know more about him as I was steadily hearing his music. Sachs gives us a 900 page uncensored rendering of the trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows of Toscanini's 90 years on this earth.
July 7, 2018
I struggled through 21 hours of this 40 hour audiobook and finally quit. Harvey Sachs accented the wrong sylLAble through many of his foreign words, so the narration was painful to get through for those of us with operatic/musical careers. I tried listening to the book at 1.5 speed and even that didn't help. This book's original edition was supposedly delightful, but then it was updated to include every gosh darn detail of every performance he ever did. I got halfway through...life is too short and I should have quit about 5 hours in! I really want to learn more about Toscanini and fascism, but this is not the place.
June 13, 2019
This is by far the definitive biography of the greatest classical music and opera conductor of the 20th century. Sachs' bio is exhaustive at 944 pages...probably too many names of unknown singers and performers mentioned.
But nonetheless, if you want to get an idea of the incredible genius of this man you should read this book. He brought top quality classical music to all levels of society. I remember my grandfather telling me how he would pay 25 cents for standing room at the old Metropolitan Opera House to hear Enrico Caruso sing with Toscanini conducting...what an experience that must have been.
A very long...BUT a very great biography.
But nonetheless, if you want to get an idea of the incredible genius of this man you should read this book. He brought top quality classical music to all levels of society. I remember my grandfather telling me how he would pay 25 cents for standing room at the old Metropolitan Opera House to hear Enrico Caruso sing with Toscanini conducting...what an experience that must have been.
A very long...BUT a very great biography.
April 4, 2021
An incredibly thorough and well written biography of an amazing man. I not only learned so much about his musical life, but also his personal life and his principles.
I really like how so much attention was paid to the actual music of the times and how it was produced and performed. I learned so much about opera and opera productions in the late 19th and early 20th century that I've purchased several CD's of operas I either had never even heard of, or had heard about but never actually heard or seen performed since they have all but disappeared from the repertory.
I really like how so much attention was paid to the actual music of the times and how it was produced and performed. I learned so much about opera and opera productions in the late 19th and early 20th century that I've purchased several CD's of operas I either had never even heard of, or had heard about but never actually heard or seen performed since they have all but disappeared from the repertory.
July 17, 2018
Felt like it took me six months to get through this (because it probably did, on and off). But very worth it. Before reading it, I was aware of the man and the bare minimum of his work (e.g., his time with the NBC Symphony). But he had so much more going on, from his complicated relationships to his stone-cold opposition to fascism in every form and his apparently photographic memory for music. Just a great read all around, if one has a ton of time on their hands.
May 8, 2019
I am glad I read this book, but really, there was a little too much attention to detail, especially with regards to who sang what part in every opera. There was a complete picture of the man: his accomplishments as well as his failures. That is the mark of a truly good biography, after all. I would recommend this book to music lovers, but I think others may find it tedious.
March 24, 2025
Exceptionally well structured biography that connects him to the world that was changing around him. I had not known that his career began when new operas were expected in Italy to the virtual closing of the Italian repertory, which he would not have approved of but helped to bring about by reviving earlier works so effectively.
November 7, 2022
Fascinating guy, incredible life, but EXTREMELY long — took me 3+ months to read. It is exhaustive but I wish there were an abridged version. Recommended to folks who are VERY interested in classical music and opera. (I am one of those fwiw)
August 1, 2018
Detailed bio of this genius. If you love classical music, you’ve gotta read it!
August 2, 2020
At 923 pages, a monumental work honoring perhaps the greatest of early 20th century musicians.
November 28, 2020
A superb biography of a briliant artist and a humanist in the best sense of a word. What a man he was, Toscanini! wow!!!
November 2, 2024
Rabid anti-fascist. Exceptionally generous. World class man whore. Laser like concentration. A scandalous memory. A doting father and grandfather. A classical music God.
March 22, 2020
I listened to this as an audiobook. All 40 1/2 hours of it. I seldom make it through audiobooks of that length, and I’ll admit I had put it down at one point. But I came back to it and persevered - and my perseverance was richly rewarded!
A masterful biography, it captures the atmosphere of musical life from the latter part of the 19th through the first half of the 20th Century. All of that shown on the backdrop of the history (writ large) that he lived through: two world wars, Mussolini, Hitler, Toscanini’s own anti fascist stance, which ultimately led to his flight from Italy and years of exile.
If you are a music lover, or interested in music history, or just like well-written and well-researched biographies, this book is for you.
A masterful biography, it captures the atmosphere of musical life from the latter part of the 19th through the first half of the 20th Century. All of that shown on the backdrop of the history (writ large) that he lived through: two world wars, Mussolini, Hitler, Toscanini’s own anti fascist stance, which ultimately led to his flight from Italy and years of exile.
If you are a music lover, or interested in music history, or just like well-written and well-researched biographies, this book is for you.
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