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Working in my office, I often listen to old LP recordings. One that caught my attention prepping the office for the semester was Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra in 1952, playing Till (and more). This recording was new to me, in a batch of records received just a few years ago.
It was recorded in Carnegie Hall. My first impression was the audio quality was pretty good on another track, so I kept listening in to Till. Toscanini was the quintessential “dictator of the baton” and I was interested to hear the interpretation. Plus the horn section would have included all three of the Berv brothers, Arthur, Jack, and Harry. There is a nice article on them (here) in the IHS website.
Curiously, there were some tempo things done in the horns that sound for all the world like Toscanini was following something the brothers were going to do rather than them playing with really accurate rhythm of the type I would have guessed he would demand. It was a little jarring to hear the second half of the opening call start at a slower tempo than the full tempo that had been established (and is indicated in the score!).
Oh, and then the low notes in the opening call…. Listening to it repeatedly, I feel 99.9% sure that another player (almost certainly Jack on second horn) plays the final C-G-C of the opening calls. This was done often back in the day, but would of course not be acceptable today. Being performed/recorded some 70 years ago though, the standards were different.
And of course there is the “trade off” passage later, with the call in F and the call in D. First horn (Arthur) starts, it is fine. Third horn (Harry), the rhythm is just a little off — and in the following passage one note is consistently held a little too long. Did Toscanini want that? Or was it just how the brothers played it and he adapted to them?
That all being said, I believe the Berv brothers heard live in a hall must have been very impressive. Their tone comes across really well on the vintage LP, and the horns are so central to the sound of the orchestra on these works. I hear strong dynamic contrasts and really nice articulations. Of the brass sections, for sure the horns also hold up the best today in terms of sound and technique. No wonder they had such long careers playing together around New York City.
And the recording itself, the tempos are very nice, the ending being particularly wistful, almost brings a tear to the eye. As the ending of Till should.
Of course, it is on YouTube. The audio quality is quite a bit better on LP, but if you want some of the flavor of Toscanini and the Berv brothers, check it out more below.
