Arturo Toscanini

Italian conductor
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Quick Facts
Born:
March 25, 1867, Parma, Italy
Died:
Jan. 16, 1957, New York City, N.Y., U.S. (aged 89)
Awards And Honors:
Grammy Award

Arturo Toscanini (born March 25, 1867, Parma, Italy—died Jan. 16, 1957, New York City, N.Y., U.S.) was an Italian conductor, considered one of the great virtuoso conductors of the first half of the 20th century.

Toscanini studied at the conservatories of Parma and Milan, intending to become a cellist. At the age of 19, when playing at the opera house at Rio de Janeiro, he was called upon to fill in for the conductor and performed Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida from memory. He came into prominence as a conductor in Italy and elsewhere and was appointed musical director of La Scala, Milan, in 1898, and of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in 1908. He conducted the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra from 1928 to 1936 and appeared with orchestras all over the world, except those of Italy and Germany during the Fascist regimes. From 1937 to 1954 he directed the NBC Symphony, an orchestra sponsored by the U.S. radio network.

Toscanini became principally known for his readings of the operas of Verdi and the symphonies of Beethoven, and he gave remarkable performances of the music of Wagner. His interpretations were notable for detail of phrasing, dynamic intensity, and an essentially classical conception of form. His phenomenal memory stood him in good stead when, suffering from poor eyesight, he was obliged always to conduct from memory. He commanded from the artists who worked under him a devotion that often made them reach something like his own fervour.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.