This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me
By Samuel Antek and Lucy Antek Johnson
This book is hard to review. Either this book is right for you or it’s not. I’ll put my review right in the middle to acknowledge that different readers will have strong opinions on either side of the spectrum.
Consider the following question:
Should a musician interpret the score based on the composer’s intention or focus more about its context in the present?
If you’re figuring out how you would answer the question and/or know at least one person with whom you would discuss it, then this book is for you. If you’re not interested in thinking or talking about music at this level, then this book would not hold your interest. I’m married to an opera singer, so I’ve been included in countless discussions. They’re not for the faint of heart.
This book is for people who are interested in what happens before orchestra performances. It includes detailed practice session notes. In the touring chapter, there is minimal narrative about the performances, focusing instead on the interactions before they were on stage.
The NBC orchestra was created for Toscanini to perform radio concerts. The earlier version was written by Samuel Antek, a violinist in Toscanini’s NBC orchestra who shared what it was like to work with the gifted conductor. Sadly, Antek died of a heart attack before the original edition of this book was published. Antek’s brilliant work showed the side of an orchestra not seen by a concert audience.
The edition has been expanded by Samuel Antek’s daughter Lucy to include more information from her parents’ papers and show the impact that Toscanini had on her family’s life. She found a treasure trove of previously unpublished material from both parents. Her mother’s travel journals provided a vivid picture of the orchestra’s touring life and different view of their maestro.
Ultimately, the book is a study of love and relationships. It starts with a love of music and then delves deeper into the relationships of a conductor to his orchestra and the performers and their audiences. It provides a fascinating view behind the scenes on how beautiful music is made. It’s shown at a deeper level than some classical music lovers may want to explore. But if you like knowing what experience brought the conductor and his orchestra, this book is for you.
This Was Toscanini provides a fascinating view behind the scenes on how beautiful music is made. Click To TweetThank you, Meryl Moss Media Group, for providing me a copy of this book.
