Evening star., 1947-03-23
TOsCanini at 80
Is Great Artist,
Still a Fighter
By Alice Eyersmon

On Tuesday, the greatest orches-
trail conductor Of our times, Arturo
Toscanini, will celebrate his 80th
birthday. It will mark 81 years of
constant effort to give to the music
world a full understanding Of the
great creators of music as expressed
in their symphonic compositions
From the June day in 1886 when a
baton was thrust into his hand In
Rio de Janeiro and he was forced
to leave his cello desk in the Or
chestra and conduct a performance
of Aida" the progress Of Toscaninf|
toward immortal fame has been
one of the amazing stories of musi-
cal history.
Today, at an advanced age, he
is still a fighter for the right in
musical Interpretation, and the tell
ing of that fight will outlive the
memory of his actual performances.
He is a man feared, respected and
loved at the same time. He Isl
feared for his temper, which flares
into white blaze at a wrong note
or a careless attitude in his players.
But he is loved and respected for
his passionate devotion to high
ideals and his integrity in express
ing them. A man of vision, he would
have music not only technically
perfect, but always imbued with
the beauty that resides in 1t.
Feel and sing" are words often
on his lips. To attain that end
he will cajole his men, plead with
them even to the point of going
on his knees to beg for a beauti-
full phrase, or he will burst into
anger and say, Look at me. I
am an old man. But I work. I
care. You are lazy" These are
mild ways in which he coaxes his
men, but there are others more
vitriolic. He always gives a pic
ture, as when he said, you don't
get to heaven staccato. You float"
or of a lyric passage in Schubert,
Don't play like Berlin, play like
Vienna. Feel graceful inside your
self"
Refused Hollywood Contract.
Having little personal contact with
his public and living in world of
his own, Toscanini has been COM
PEELED nevertheless to move along
with the times. This also, he has
done in his own way. 1t was the
finding of book in which the Phil |
harmonic Symphony Orchestra had
had bound thousands Of letters from
listeners of his broadcasts and pre-
sented to him when he severed his
connection with it and which had
remained unnoticed by him, that
determined his return to direct the
NBC Symphony. He had suddenly
discovered how much his work
meant to the radio public. Refusing
a Hollywood offer Of $250,000 to
make one motion picture, he con-
sented to do SO for nothing when
the theme was about the oppressors
of Italy.
The son of tailor who had been
an ardent follower OF Garibaldi,
Toscanini already had defled Fas-
cism by performing Verdi's rarely
heard limo dele Nazioni" over the
air in 1943. Into the original score,
which included God Save the King"
and La Marseillaise," he inter-
polated THE Star Spangled Ban
ner," and slyly changed the original
lyrics that say. ITALY, my country"
to ITALY, betrayed" Although not
yet an American citizen, the con-
ductor has a feeling of patriotism
for this country where he has al
ready established his home.
Stand for Recording.
It Is told that when recording
1.-THE Star Spangled Banner" with
the NBC Symphony some time ago,
he stopped the orchestra with
quick gesture. Something is wrong"
he said. "Ah, yes. You must stand
when you play the National Anthem.
Rise" And the entire body of men,
including the cellists, stood during
the recording.
Toscanini has his sentimental side
also. He never conducts q concert |
without having the pictures Of his
wife, son and daughter in his pocket. |
There, too, is a sealed silk envelope,
the contents of which no one knows,
but which the family believes to be
the first love-letter written him by
his wife. He constantly begs his
men to play with this" placing his
hand over his heart.
A great man, great musician,
may he continue long to spread his