Toscanini DESTROYS a bass section

Toscanini DESTROYS a bass section
Toscanini DESTROYS a bass section

[robschottjr.]

Toscanini: the Gordon Ramsay of classical music (except even Gordon is more polite)

[thewooddove]

“I hate Toscanini. I’ve never heard him in a concert hall, but I’ve heard enough of his recordings. What he does to music is terrible in my opinion. He chops it up into a hash and then pours a disgusting sauce over it. Toscanini ‘honoured’ me by conducting my symphonies. I heard those records, too, and they’re worthless. I’ve read about Toscanini’s conducting style and his manner of conducting a rehearsal. The people who describe this disgraceful behaviour are for some reason delighted by it. I simply can’t understand what they find delightful. I think it’s outrageous, not delightful. He screams and curses the musicians and makes scenes in the most shameless manner. The poor musicians have to put up with all this nonsense or be sacked. And they even begin to see ‘something in it’. (…) Toscanini sent me his recording of m Seventh Symphony and hearing it made me very angry. Everything is wrong. The spirit and the character and the tempi. It’s a sloppy, hack job. I wrote him a letter expressing my views. I don’t know if he ever got it; maybe he did and pretended not to – that would be completely in keeping with his vain and egoistic style. Why do I think that Toscanini didn’t let it be known that I wrote to him? Because much later I received a letter from America: I was elected to the Toscanini Society! They must have thought that I was a great fan of the maestro’s. I began receiving records on a regular basis: all new recordings by Toscanini. My only comfort is that at least I always have a birthday present handy. Naturally, I wouldn’t give something like that to a friend. But to an acquaintance-why not? It pleases them and it’s less trouble for me. That’s one of life’s most difficult problems- what to give for a birthday or anniversary to a person you don’t particularly like, don’t know very well, and don’t respect. Conductors are too often rude and conceited tyrants. And in my youth I often had to fight fierce battles with them, battles for my music and my dignity.”
― Dmitri Shostakovich, Testimony: The Memoirs

[TheBarOst]

- Who is the idiot Bass Cello?
- I'm the idiot Bass Cello, Toscanini.

[BnzDvz]

Toscasini is the type of guy who always screaming at deaf people.

[nikolaoskal]

Toscanini: the destroyer of musicians and composers alike.

[essemmetv]

The silence in the room after his outbursts is the sound of musicians dying inside. He truly makes the guy in Whiplash look like an angel in comparison.

[ouafflegd]

You know it’s serious when he switches from Italian to English in seconds (who else came from twoset)

[hipwave]

he was bordering very closely blasphemy all along lmao.

[ift]

Of course the double basses will always be late...they're one of the sections that's furthest away from the conductor.😜

[lizziesmusicmaking]

Good grief. I think I would have titled this video 'famous conductor completely loses his cool and screams at the double basses for two minutes straight'. It's excessive no matter how late they were. Not impressed by Toscanini's behavior here.

[r.i.p.volodya]

Like it or not, the playing of the NBC under Toscanini was uniquely superb; nothing to match it today.

[giacomovallati]

Grandissimo direttore: non si discute. Uomo detestabile: e anche su questo non c'è dubbio. E bestemmiava pure. Oggi sarebbe semplicemente inaccettabile.

[hsh]

They played well in spite of him, not because of him.

[maestroclassico]

The musicians of the NBC SYMPHONY knew precisely what they signed up for so they tolerated it like pros. In this century, management would immediately step in, stop the rehearsal, and bring in a substitute Conductor.

[ErnestJannCabotaje]

"Forte is piano and piano is forte" - memorable line from him

[greendeane]

John Coffee was a famous crusty trombone player in the Boston area. Once during a rehearsal under Toscanini, he remove the mouthpiece, and looked at the conductor through it. Toscanini stopped the orchestra and asked coffee what he was doing. The gruff coffee replied, 'I'm trying to find the beat."

[cherijaniczek]

Oh my heaven's sake, Toscanini is brutal!! I can't imagine anyone wanting to have him as a conductor with outrages like that at his players! So sad how he belittles the orchestra players. 😠😳

[joeenglert]

man, Toscanini sounds just like the iron shiek

[sq]

TOSCANONO, “you have no ears, no eyes” LMAO

[musicorico]

Iwant to hear the basses part and can to see if they are late like Toscanini apunt.