The main question for collectors familiar with Toscanini's 1941-42 Philadelphia Orchestra recordings concerns how this newly remastered edition (compiled from "original sources", according to Sony/BMG) compares to earlier ones. To my ears, the recordings sound better than ever. Andreas Meyer's transfers reveal a wider spectrum of low, middle, and high-range frequencies as well as more noticeable surface noise, while a few previous instances of pitch waver now are fixed. Loud climaxes that once emerged powdery and diffuse gain considerable definition and color, as Respighi's Roman Festivals and Debussy's Iberia bear out. The boost in dynamic range reinforces the Philadelphia string section's characteristically lush sonority, yet at the same time underlines occasionally scrappy moments like the cross rhythms at the outset of the Tchaikovsky Pathétique's march movement or the overly rushed Mendelssohn Overture and Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The Debussy La Mer and Berlioz Queen Mab Scherzo match the point and delicacy of Toscanini's later NBC Symphony studio versions, albeit with a little more warmth, animation, and tonal shading, despite the inferior sonics. By contrast, Strauss' Death and Transfiguration seems relatively ordinary when you consider the extraordinary rhythmic focus and polyphonic delineation distinguishing the Maestro's great 1952 NBC reading.
Critical consensus singles out the Schubert "Great" C major symphony as the prize of the Toscanini/Philadelphia series, and I couldn't agree more. The fire and drive typifying the conductor's 1953 NBC performance is present in a suaver, more massively contoured orchestral context, with notable tempo adjustments such as the subtly effected first-movement transitions and, in the finale, a striking holdback on the unison C-naturals (measures 1058 and on).
I also should make special mention of the first-chair soloists, particularly oboist Marcel Tabuteau's faultless, elegant phrasing and Mason Jones' mellifluous horn work in the Schubert second movement. Whereas RCA's deleted complete Toscanini Edition spread the Philadelphia recordings across four CDs, here everything comfortably fits on three. Obviously this set recommends itself to all Toscanini admirers.
