Evening star., 1943-05-02
THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. c. MAY O. 1e4s.
NEW YORK.

Since that day 81 years ago when
he held Rio de Janeiro audience
spellbound by his impromptu per-
formance of "Aida," Arturo Tos-
canini has become a living legend,
not only as great musician but
also as great humanitarian.
He was born in Parma, Italy,
March Is, 1867, the son of Claudio
and Paola Toscanini. His father
with a fiery, ardent idealist who
battled tyranny and despotism in
Italy. Much of Arturo Toscanini's
championing of the cause of liberty
can be traced back to his family
background. His father followed
Garibaldi's expeditions to liberate
Rome and suffered by years of i'm
prisoment, after averting capital
punishment.
Being born in Parma at that
time meant growing up in an at
mosphere of music lovers. Hence at
the age OF 8 Toscanini entered the
local conservatory. Within two
years he won a scholarship in Prof.
Carinis cello class. At 18 he was a
graduate cellist and one of the few
possessors of "con lode distinta"
diploma in cello, pianoforte and
composition.
Toscanini, from youth, chose to
memorize all music he studied. This
trait has prompted incorrect stories
That he memorized the scores due
to nearsightedness. 1t was his
theory that to know the score" was
being able to play it by heart. His
professors noticed his remarkable
memory and after a while they dis
missed him every time he turned
the pages of a score while playing
because they knew then it was a
sure sign that he was reading the
work for the first time and had not
practlced it in advance.
In his nine years at the school
Toscanini progressed so rapidly
that he had time to read innumer-
able scores. In short time, with
his prodigious memory, ito read a
score was to know it by heart"
Musical works of all classifications
opera, arlas, sonatas and quartets
were Transcribed by Toscanini for
miniature orchestra, made up of
himself and his classmates, which
played secretly under his direction.
The orchestra came to sudden end
when all the lads were punished be-
cause school rules forbade activities
not IN the regular curriculum.
Toscanini's quest for musical
knowledge soon took him beyond
the confines of the school library,
which he had already mastered. But
he, was of poor parents and couldn't
afford to buy the scores he desired.
He found partial solution to this
problem by selling his allotments
OF meat, fruit and wine to some of
his better-financed classmates for
an entire year. 1t was in this man
ner that he was able to buy his first
score-Beethoven's "Septet,"' one of
the most charming works of the
great master.
Family His Responsibility.
From Toscaninis school DAYS he
disliked being looked upon as a
"virtuoso," phenomenon" or a
star" Although he won high hon.
ors at graduation and had proved
his outstanding musicianship. he
did not dream of being a concert
list.
An entire family looked to Tosca-
mini for financial aid, so he well
coined signing a contract as cellist
and second chorus master with
Claudio Rossi, Brazilian impre-
sario During the long journey to
South, America he taught many
members of the company parts of
operas.
After a poor review of Faust"
the Brazilian conductor, Leopoldo
Miguez, withdrew from the podium
blaming the bad performance on
the dlsloyalty of the Italian artists
IN the company. Hence, when the
Italian maestro. Superti, took over
the audience hissed and whistled in
support of his predecessor. Tosca-
mini reached his place in the pit
late that night and welcomed the
tumult because it covered up his
taroiness. He reached his seat lust
as Ventura was about to mount the
pocium.
Pandemonium still reigned and
Ventura was forced to dismount. The
company was faced with the situa-