A fine long wooden conductor's baton used by the legendary conductor. Inscribed "Toscanini" at the base and sold with a letter of provenance stating that the baton was acquired from the family of Joseph Roda (1894 - 1963), noted Chicago violinist and author of the seminal luthier reference book "Bows for Musical Instruments of the Violin Family." Roda was a member of the Chicago Symphony from 1936 to 1956 and in 1941 Toscanini lead the orchestra in a special concert to aid the orchestra's pension fund. It is likely the baton dates from that occasion.
The twentieth century saw no more exciting conductor than Arturo Toscanini, whose electric performances from the turn of the century to the 1950s have been dazzlingly documented on record and on film. La Scala, Milan, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, the New York Philharmonic, the Palestine Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra were all transformed by his involvement with them. His range of repertoire and his engagement with the contemporary composers from Verdi to Barber are of enormous significance. Among the many world premieres he conducted were Puccini’s La Bohème, La Fanciulla del West and Turandot; Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings, all staples of the repertoire.
A fine long wooden conductor's baton used by the legendary conductor. Inscribed "Toscanini" at the base and sold with a letter of provenance stating that the baton was acquired from the family of Joseph Roda (1894 - 1963), noted Chicago violinist and author of the seminal luthier reference book "Bows for Musical Instruments of the Violin Family." Roda was a member of the Chicago Symphony from 1936 to 1956 and in 1941 Toscanini lead the orchestra in a special concert to aid the orchestra's pension fund. It is likely the baton dates from that occasion.
The twentieth century saw no more exciting conductor than Arturo Toscanini, whose electric performances from the turn of the century to the 1950s have been dazzlingly documented on record and on film. La Scala, Milan, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, the New York Philharmonic, the Palestine Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra were all transformed by his involvement with them. His range of repertoire and his engagement with the contemporary composers from Verdi to Barber are of enormous significance. Among the many world premieres he conducted were Puccini’s La Bohème, La Fanciulla del West and Turandot; Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings, all staples of the repertoire.