Toscanini An Intimate Portrait 1956 Book by Samuel Chotzinoff First Edition

This listing is for Toscanini An Intimate Portrait Hardcover Book 1956 by Samuel Chotzinoff. 

Title: Toscanini An Intimate Portrait

Author: Samuel Chotzinoff

Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (January 1, 1956)

Publication Date: 1956

Binding: Hardcover

Language: English

Pages: 148

Condition: Good with shelf wear, Clean Text

Dust Jacket Condition: no dust jacket

Edition: "W" Print, 1956 

Samuel Chotzinoff was a piano accompanist and later a music critic. He first met Toscanini in 1926 when he was a critic for the New York World. In 1937, RCA hired him to develop the NBC Symphony and get Toscanini to be its conductor. Chotzinoff succeeded in this, and Toscanini led the NBC Symphony until 1954 (except for 1941-2), when he retired. Toscanini was a remarkable man whose conducting career spanned 68 years and who became the world's most famous conductor. Chotzinoff served as Toscanini's right hand man during the years he conducted the NBC Symphony and certainly got to know him well. "An Intimate Portrait" is a rather gossipy portrayal of Toscanini during these years. As portrayed by Chotzinoff, Toscanini was a strange mixture of egotism and diffidence, of rude behavior and great kindness, of childish foolishness and concentrated seriousness, of temper tantrums at rehearsals and sterling performance under pressure. He must have been quite charming, as people always seemed to forgive him for any offensive behavior. Chotzinoff obviously adored him, and that is reflected in his book. The edition that I have is the 1956 one published by A.A. Knopf. The book ends with Toscanini's retirement in 1954, after the infamous farewell performance in which his fantastic musical memory failed him for the first time in his career. Toscanini died in 1957, so he was still alive when Chotzinoff's book was first published, but it's not clear that he provided any input himself. At only 148 pages, this book is a quick read. Chotzinoff's style is conversational and makes for easy reading. In the front of the book are some photos of the maestro, both conducting and relaxing. The book is almost exclusively concerned with Chotzinoff's interaction with Toscanini, so don't look here for a comprehensive treatment of the maestro's life and career.

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