Brahms Symphony No. 1 - Arturo Toscanini NBC Symphony Orchestra

Toscanini's Brahms first has always been a legendary performance, but as with many legends, a degree of faith has been required on account of the limited sound. It does not emerge here as a sonic blockbuster, but the impact is greatly superior to the sound of the CD. This is unquestionably the best way to encounter this performance. Great stuff.

A superlative interpretation -- I can finally HEAR the MUSIC!

This reissue finally opened my ears to listening to the MUSIC that Toscanini makes, not the sound quality. And yet, it is the immense IMPROVEMENT in sound quality that John Haley has wrought that enabled me to finally HEAR the MUSIC, not the distortion. For the first time while listening to this performance, I am able to get past the challenges in the sonics of this very ancient recording and simply enjoy a truly superlative interpretation. Thank you John and thank you Bob for making this recording available and finally listenable for me. It is now a recording that I can come back to enjoy again and again.