Retro Recordings

Saturday @ Noon

Listen to Discover Classical on Saturdays at noon for Retro Recordings as Aaron Mood presents historic performances of your favorite music. You'll hear definitive recordings from the last century, such as Leopold Stokowski leading the NBC Symphony, Renata Tebaldi singing Puccini and Mascagni conducting Mascagni.

4/4

Arturo Toscanini was, among other posts, the conductor of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic. In 1937, at the age of 69, Toscanini left the NY Phil and was considering retirement, but David Sarnoff lured him to the newly-formed NBC Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble specifically created to attract Toscanini to the conductor's platform. He would remain with the orchestra, on and off, until 1945. We'll hear Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra perform the Overture and Venusberg Music from Wagner's Tannhäuser.

Please Note: Retro Recordings will air at 12:11pm this Saturday, April 4th, so that we can air Live & Local in its entirety.

 

4/11

Dennis Brain was a British horn player who served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. A third generation horn player, he became the principle horn of the Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. We'll hear him perform Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat with former of those ensembles.

 

4/18

Wilhelm Furtwangler was a German conductor active during the first half of the 20th Century. He has been credited as an influence on many contemporary conductors, including Daniel Barenboim and Gustavo Dudamel. We'll hear a mid-century recording of Furtwangler conducting Beethoven's Eighth Symphony, performed by the Stockholm Philharmonic.