Previous posts for March 25th may be found here: Béla Bartók (2019), Anita Bryant; Elton John (2020), and Aretha Franklin; Arturo Toscanini (2021)
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Arturo Toscanini (25 March 1867 – 16 January 1957) was a great and extremely popular Italian conductor.
Solemn Heroic Couplets on the Case of Arturo Toscanini
Thanks to the existence of recorded performances, as well as the reminiscences of some of his colleagues, many people now realize that Toscanini's reputation for absolutely literal fidelity to the printed score was largely a media creation. -- Linda B. Fairtile, "Toscanini and the Myth of Textual Fidelity." Journal of the Conductors Guild 24, no. 1-2 (2003). Abstract.
The myth that Toscanini wished no more
Than always being faithful to the score
Became so strong that ethical dimensions
Were soon assigned to literal intentions.
But just as judges make their contribution
Interpreting our nation’s constitution,
And any pious claims about The Framers
Should always come with plentiful disclaimers,
We find, in music, that the path is vexed
If one is strictly faithful to the text.
There is no way a musical performance
Can ever be in literal conformance
With any score. Although you use the best,
Subjective taste will always be expressed,
Even by the textually obsessed.
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