Charles Munch in New York (2007)

For fans of Charles Münch, this Music & Arts disc will present a fascinating snapshot of the Alsatian-born conductor of the Boston Symphony in highly unusual circumstances: one of the last performances of the NBC Symphony. The orchestra's usual conductor, the 87-year-old but still volatile Arturo Toscanini, had recently been informed NBC was canceling his show after his April broadcast, and he abruptly decided to sit out his next scheduled appearance on March 28, 1954. The call went out and Münch stepped in with a program ... Read More

For fans of Charles Münch, this Music & Arts disc will present a fascinating snapshot of the Alsatian-born conductor of the Boston Symphony in highly unusual circumstances: one of the last performances of the NBC Symphony. The orchestra's usual conductor, the 87-year-old but still volatile Arturo Toscanini, had recently been informed NBC was canceling his show after his April broadcast, and he abruptly decided to sit out his next scheduled appearance on March 28, 1954. The call went out and Münch stepped in with a program of French favorites: Debussy's Iberia, Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin, and Roussel's Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2. Though they didn't know each other and would never met again, the one encounter between Munch and the NBC Symphony was obviously exciting and satisfying for both conductor and orchestra. Like kids on a spree, the NBC Symphony plays with terrific excitement and tremendous verve, but because it was Toscanini's orchestra, the playing is still clean and precise. And like a... Read Less