# 2411 FDC - 1989 25c Performing Arts: Arturo Toscanini
25¢ Arturo Toscanini
Performing Arts Series
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 152,250,000
Printed By: American Bank Note Co
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 11
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Arturo Toscanini
Talented from a young age, Toscanini earned a scholarship to the local music conservatory where he studied cello. Then in 1886 he joined the orchestra of a touring opera company.
At just 19 years old, Toscanini made his conducting debut with this company while touring South America. At the time, the local conductor leading the orchestra was embroiled in a feud with the performers because he didn’t properly grasp the music. The singers threatened to strike, leading their manager to look for a new conductor. Two other men attempted the job but failed. Then the singers suggested Toscanini, who had been working as assistant chorus master. He had no conducting experience, but knew the whole opera by heart. So on June 25, 1886, Toscanini conducted the two-and-a-half hour Aida opera from memory.
When the tour was over Toscanini returned to Italy and continued to conduct and play cello. Among these performances were the premiere of the revised Edmea, which he conducted, and the premiere of Otello, in which he played cello. Over time, Toscanini’s skill as a conductor outshined his work as a cellist and it became his primary focus. He conducted additional world premieres, including Puccini’s La bohème and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Toscanini conducted his first symphony in 1896, presenting the works of Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner.
Toscanini retired when he was 87 and spent his final years reviewing and editing his recordings. He died two years later, on January 16, 1957, in New York City. His epitaph includes a 1926 quote of his “Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro has died.”
Click here for a short Toscanini video.
25¢ Arturo Toscanini
Performing Arts Series
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 152,250,000
Printed By: American Bank Note Co
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 11
Color: Multicolored
Birth Of Arturo Toscanini
Talented from a young age, Toscanini earned a scholarship to the local music conservatory where he studied cello. Then in 1886 he joined the orchestra of a touring opera company.
At just 19 years old, Toscanini made his conducting debut with this company while touring South America. At the time, the local conductor leading the orchestra was embroiled in a feud with the performers because he didn’t properly grasp the music. The singers threatened to strike, leading their manager to look for a new conductor. Two other men attempted the job but failed. Then the singers suggested Toscanini, who had been working as assistant chorus master. He had no conducting experience, but knew the whole opera by heart. So on June 25, 1886, Toscanini conducted the two-and-a-half hour Aida opera from memory.
When the tour was over Toscanini returned to Italy and continued to conduct and play cello. Among these performances were the premiere of the revised Edmea, which he conducted, and the premiere of Otello, in which he played cello. Over time, Toscanini’s skill as a conductor outshined his work as a cellist and it became his primary focus. He conducted additional world premieres, including Puccini’s La bohème and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Toscanini conducted his first symphony in 1896, presenting the works of Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner.
Toscanini retired when he was 87 and spent his final years reviewing and editing his recordings. He died two years later, on January 16, 1957, in New York City. His epitaph includes a 1926 quote of his “Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro has died.”
Click here for a short Toscanini video.