BooksByWeight usually puts up sale, in Chennai, 2-3 times a year. Though I wish I could make it to all their sales, I usually manage going there only once a year. The other times whenever they come to Chennai I would either be in Coimbatore or in the USA so would miss their sales.
BooksByWeight Sale in Chennai was canceled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic...
For example, I was in Coimbatore till Apr 5th but their sale in Coimbatore was on 6th-10th Apr, so I missed their Coimbatore Sales. But luckily this time the Chennai sale was scheduled 12-16 Apr and, as I was in town, I went on the very first day…, as a first customer!
Do you see any trend? Yes, the old editions collection got fewer every year (and the price too increased from Rs.100/- per Kg to Rs.300/- per Kg) so ended up buying just a few and this year is no exception…
Arturo Toscanini (1867–1957)
Toscanini is, dearly and rightly, called as the Maestro!
Toscanini was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his eidetic memory.
Just watch him (aged 85) conduct William Tell (NBC orchestra)….
Toscanini was known for his precision, clarity, and attention to detail. He was a master of interpreting the scores of classical composers, and his performances were often characterized by their brisk tempos and tight, controlled orchestral sound. He was particularly renowned for his interpretations of Beethoven’s symphonies and Wagner’s operas.
Furtwängler, on the other hand, was known for his improvisational style and ability to create a deeply emotional and dramatic interpretation of the music. He was less concerned with precision than with capturing the essence of the composer’s intent, and his performances were often marked by their sweeping, passionate sound and expressive phrasing.
If we look at classical music, in terms of objective and subjective interpretations, if Furtwangler be placed in the Subjective scale, Toscanini could be placed in the Objective scale…!
In case you have not seen how Furtwangler conducts….
Toscanini is more commanding, while Furtwangler is more fluidic in his conducting style. Though both their styles are very different the Music they conducted/created/achieved were sublime and magical in every way…
(cira 1929)
From left to right: Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, and Wilhelm Furtwängler
I am a very big of all of them!
If you like to know more about great conductors and their styles, this video is a fantastic start…
Here are some photos from the Toscanini book….
If you are interested to indulge yourself in the Western Classical music and to start would like to have a good catalog listing the composers, conductors, and their interpretations (recorded ones), here it is…
Special thanks to Davide Marchiori for letting me share the catalogue - which he and his friend put together a few years ago...
To know more about my Western Classical Music journey…
Please read my previous post…
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