Brahms Symphony No. 1 - Arturo Toscanini NBC Symphony Orchestra

Name: Brahms Symphony No. 1 - Arturo Toscanini NBC Symphony Orchestra
Brand: Archival Audio
SKU: HDTT14391
Price: 26.0 USD
Availability: InStock

SKU: HDTT14391

$26.00 USD

Product variants

This Product has the All in One Feature Click for more info

Artist(s): Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra
Recording Info: Recorded by RCA at Carnegie Hall, November 6, 1951

1 Un poco sostenuto; Allegro 11:56
2 Andante sostenuto 8:12
3 Un poco allegretto e grazioso 4:29
4 Adagio; Piu andante; Allegro non troppo ma con brio 16:58

This recording of Brahms Symphony No. 1 is considered to be one of Toscanini’s very greatest recordings, and one which tends to run counter to a number of generalized negative beliefs about his later recordings. This new high-resolution transfer and restoration shows us a superb dramatic presentation of this complex symphony, thoroughly idiomatic and played with both flexibility and radiant, well-balanced orchestral sound. It is an exciting and altogether satisfying recorded version of this symphony that stands alongside other great recordings of this piece as one of the very best, at least as it can be heard in the present release. We hope that this new release opens a new window onto the quality of Toscanini’s recorded legacy in his final years.

For additional information, please see the extended essay at:
TOSCANINI IN HIGH RESOLUTION?

Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master
then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using
Merging Technologies Album Publishing.
DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings

Play Sample Tracks

Customer Reviews

4.4 Based on 5 Reviews

5 ★

40%

4 ★

60%

3 ★

2 ★

1 ★

Write a Review Ask a Question

Reviews
Questions

Thank you for submitting a review!

Your input is very much appreciated. Share it with your friends so they can enjoy it too!

05/16/2025

David J.

United States

Toscanini Reissues

The Toscanini Brahms 1st is a definitte improvement over RCA’s Arturo Toscanini collection issue from the 1990s. The soundstage is fuller, and the recording is clearer on top and on the bottom. There is more space around solo instruments. For example, the big oboe solo in the introduction to the first movement, which is pinched in tone on the first RCA CD, sounds richer and more graceful in his phrasing. Similarly, the NBC strings sound richer and fuller thourghout. These comments also apply to Toscanini’s “New World” symphony CD. The solo strings at the end of the slow movement and the woodwinds in the trio of the Scherzo are much clearer and have more presence than on the RCA CD. Are there limitations? There is distortion in the lower strings and timpani, particularly when heard though headphones (Focal Professional), but my my Linn Kattan speakers were better able to mitigate this problem. I suspect this has to do with the fact that the original masters have gone missing. (A theft? Now there’s a case for Interpol. Seriously, RCA could not get them back??) I know I’m not the first lsitener to lament the sonic imitations of Toscanini’s recrdings, but I appreciate the labor of love that’s gone into these reissues. They are better! If you are planning more of them, I would suggest Strauss’ Don Quixote from 1953 which I suspect is much fuller than it sounds on the original RCA reissue.

03/15/2023

Geoffrey G.

United States

Toscanini's Brahms

Toscanini's Brahms first has always been a legendary performance, but as with many legends, a degree of faith has been required on account of the limited sound. It does not emerge here as a sonic blockbuster, but the impact is greatly superior to the sound of the CD. This is unquestionably the best way to encounter this performance. Great stuff.

03/14/2023

Anonymous

United Kingdom

Great Sound & Performance

Having reviewed several Toscanini remasterings by various labels for other publications and having left comments on John Haley's blog on this album, all I will say is that by any standards - and particularly today's, with conducting non-entities using chamber orchestras in Brahms - this is a great Brahms First, but Toscanini's live Philharmonia (Pristine Classical) and 1942 NBC SO (Music & Arts) accounts are actually superior, being even more volatile and fluid. However the remastering is in a different class to the one by Pristine of the entire 50s cycle (the official ones are unlistenable to audio junk). Having far more, presence, projection and vibrancy.

02/17/2023

Steven B.

United States

Toscanini's 1951 Brahms symphony #. Some sonic improvements

I agree with reviewer comments about the improved sound (especially with respect to its sit-up- in -your- chair dynamic range) of HDTT's recent release of the 1953 Dvorak.New World Symphony, which like this 1951 version of the Brahms #1 was conducted by Toscanini and his NBC Symphony Orchestra. I was also impressed - but less so -with the sonics of this release which to my ears were less dynamic and with less instrumental detail than the Dvorak. My guess is that these differences are due not so much to HDTT's DSD256 remastering tools but to the relative inferiority of the original 1951 source of this recording, which for some reason is not identified (nor was it for the Dvorak). For audiophile readers such information is important. SRB

01/31/2023

Rushton

United States

A superlative interpretation -- I can finally HEAR the MUSIC!

This reissue finally opened my ears to listening to the MUSIC that Toscanini makes, not the sound quality. And yet, it is the immense IMPROVEMENT in sound quality that John Haley has wrought that enabled me to finally HEAR the MUSIC, not the distortion. For the first time while listening to this performance, I am able to get past the challenges in the sonics of this very ancient recording and simply enjoy a truly superlative interpretation. Thank you John and thank you Bob for making this recording available and finally listenable for me. It is now a recording that I can come back to enjoy again and again.

DSD256, DSD128 & DSD64 Direct Stream Digital formats are only playable on compatible hardware and software.
24bit 352.8kHz PCM Flac (DXD) DXD is only playable on compatible hardware and software.
24bit 192khz PCM Flac is playable on most all playback devices
24bit 96khz PCM Flac is playable on most all playback devices
Go Here for more detailed Info
Please Note: Playback on Apple media players will require converting the file to the required format.

Gold Premium Compact Disc 300+ years longevity - The recording layer resists UV and heat better than other discs. Includes Complete Jewel case and Liner Notes
Regular Premium Compact Disc Includes Complete Jewel case and Liner Notes Budget Compact Disc contains only the disc without jewel case or liner notes
Please Note: The Gold CD is not offered in the Budget line Some titles do not offer the Budget option
Please allow 7-10 days for CD production time.