(Amadeus). Lauded by Verdi; Debussy; and other music legends; the celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini raised the standards of orchestral and operatic performance over an astonishing 69 years on the podium. But as he did so; he acquired a reputation as something of a tyrant; who unleashed an explosive temper at musicians if rehearsals did not meet his expectations. In The Real Toscanini ; Cesare Civetta presents an intriguing collection of vivid; one-of-a-kind interviews with artists who performed with Toscanini. A portrait of the inner workings of the maestro emerges through these extensive conversations; conducted by the author over a period of 20 years; together with other firsthand recollections. These accounts clarify Toscaninis philosophy; musical style; and techniques. They depict a man tormented by inner demons of anger and depression; which were easily triggered by his frustration at being unable to produce the musical ideal in his minds ear. Toscanini is also revealed as a vehement anti-Fascist and an unequivocal opponent of totalitarianism and racism he defied Mussolini and publically opposed Hitler. The book includes a comprehensive account of his 1936 inauguration of what is now known as the Israel Philharmonic; in solidarity with Jewish refugee musicians. Toscanini comes through in this book as a tortured but deeply humane individual who strove to constantly improve a sincere and humble musician who was nevertheless the preeminent maestro of the 20th century.
#127097 in eBooks 1995-01-01 1995-01-01File Name: B00C0U1EZS
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. bought for my sonBy A ReaderI bought this for my son who is entering high school next year. He is a percussionist in the middle school band and plans to play xylophone in the high school band. After looking through the book he thinks that it is way more than he will ever need for high school level; more of a professional level. However; I feel it cant hurt to encourage him to go beyond the minimum requirements that the high school band will require.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Book to play with malletsBy CarlaoThis is a nice book if you already has good techniques to play with mallets. It has a lot of lessons about different kind of music. But if you are a novice and does not has notion of techniques then you might get some difficulties reading the lessons. But if you already play; it is a nice book to improve your techniques with a lot of different practices.Enjoy.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Paul McCollumGood