Did Toscanini conduct Mahler music?

In the site of FNAC I have found a Grammofono 2000 CD no more available, where Beethoven 3 and Mahler 5 appear to be performed by Toscanini conducting the NYPO. I have looked around and the second item (which for biographical reasons sounds strange as performed by AT) seems to be a wrong coupling. In effect the CD is no more available. Any explanation? Thanks

Toscanini's entire repertoire is listed in Harvey Sachs' biography of the conductor. It contained no Mahler.

The short answer to the tittle of your thread is no. Not one note.

Grammofono 2000 is/was one of the Italian pirate labels and not to be trusted. Not only is their sound usually poor but their documentation is usually faulty.

Toscanini studied the score of Mahler 5, but hated it. His wrote his comment to a friend: ´Believe me, Mahler is not a genuine artist. His music has neither personality nor genius. It+s a mixture of an Italianate style a la Petrella or Leoncavallo, coupled with Tschaikowsky´s musical and instrumental bombast and a seeking after Straussian peuliarities) although boasting an opposite system, without having the originality of the last two. At every step you fall, not in commonplace, but into some triviality. Look at this (here T. wrote out 8 bars of the recurring theme of the opening funeral march'. Petrella and Leoncavallo would look disdainfully at this nice little march motif. .. Mahler is shameless enough to intrduce it in the first movement of a symphony ... , etc., etc.

Benjo Maso

AFAIK Toscanini never conducted Mahler. One of his biography - just can't recall which one - stated that he studied the Fifth symphony with great interest but in the end he disliked Mahler's music. A few years ago I saw an LP, which I thought had been conducted by Toscanini, then it turned out to be played by a certain Arturo Toscanini Orchestra.

In addition, they have issued some items with long-known fraudulent attributions, such as that cylinder ostensibly conducted by Wagner himself at Bayreuth.

There are pirate labels and there are pirate labels. But some of them, particularly Grammofono 2000 and Iron Needle, I call the 'theft' labels.

A fuller version of the letter is in Sachs' new book, on page 69. Sachs helps keep things in context a bit with his comments, too.

Matthew B. Tepper (posts from uswest.net are forged) wrote in message ...

No honor among thieves?

Or does Iron Needle just not have a parrot on its shoulder, a peg leg, an eye patch and bottle of rum?

Reportedly. Toscanini heard the Mahler 4th on the radio and said it was composed by a crazy man. Maybe sleigh bells ain't his thing

Abbedd

As I have a huge collection of Toscanini recordings, and being really interested to Toscanini conducting activity, I did already know the answer. As one of the 'lucky' owners of the Wagner cylinder CD I know about the Grammofono 2000 not perfect activity. Though, as Italian, I am afraid to be quite unhappy of the use of the word 'italian' before the word 'pirate', because I think there are a lot of foreign products with uncorrect advertising as well as editorial correctness. As it was remarked elsewhere, there are national laws which allow to overcome copyrights; I agree that the use of material just published under another label is against law, and that Grammofono 2000 is not so fine (how do you say euphemistic?) with respect to other labels and sometimes to its customers. I found also material published under Nuova Era or Grammofono 2000 published elsewhere too, after more or less short time, sometimes with better sometimes with worst results. Also accidents can happen like the 'ever released' on CD Beethoven 9 in Buenos Aires by Toscanini ( I think there is really 'buona fede' in what M&A wrote) after one month or so after the Arioso (unknown label to me, probably just new). We do not what happens before the publications of a CD, who gives the source material and under which contractual conditions. I am a great estimator of the job of a lot of people, and I understand their soul when somebody uses their work, without notice (it happens often to me in the field of scientific research). I do not approve piracy, though (as noted elsewhere) sometimes some treasures have come out through this way, but... But it is a un undoubtable sign of personal reputation that the coupling of the word 'italian' and 'pirate' never used for other foreign pirates, that for somebody Italian people is all made of pirates. I could think and express my thoughts about some people, luckily a few, but not consider everybody belonging to a nation just like the few ones. I would like that somebody consider also the people closer to them: SAINTS AND DEVILS ARE EVERYWHERE. I do not know the English translation (help accepted) of what a Guy said about 2000 years ago: ' Si vede il fuscello nell'occhio altrui, ma non la trave nel proprio'. I'm not an observant catholic but some rules are independent from religion.

Notwithstanding I'm a great estimator of Toscanini, I like Mahler. and I am amused by Toscanini behaviour. I think that the musical reputation Toscanini had about Mahler, was also related to what happened in New York between them. And it was extended to Mahler's music, not only to performing approach but of course to composition. Please, notice that this behaviour was never used in these terms towards anybody else (of those which remained in the history of music of course). Their philosophies were too far each other. And so we should consider Toscanini considerations about Mahler with a smile. In any case, this confirms that Toscanini was great also in his mistakes