- published: 02 Jun 2007
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Arturo Toscanini (Italian pronunciation: [arˈtuːro toskaˈniːni]; March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory. As music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra he became a household name (especially in the United States) through his radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of the operatic and symphonic repertoire.
Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, and won a scholarship to the local music conservatory, where he studied the cello. He joined the orchestra of an opera company, with which he toured South America in 1886. While presenting Aida in Rio de Janeiro, Leopoldo Miguez, the locally hired conductor, reached the summit of a two-month escalating conflict with the performers due to his rather poor command of the work, to the point that the singers went on strike and forced the company's general manager to seek a substitute conductor. Carlo Superti and Aristide Venturi tried unsuccessfully to finish the work. In desperation, the singers suggested the name of their assistant Chorus Master, who knew the whole opera from memory. Although he had no conducting experience, Toscanini was eventually convinced by the musicians to take up the baton at 9:15 P.M., and led a performance of the two-and-a-half hour opera. The public was taken by surprise, at first by the youth and sheer aplomb of this unknown conductor, then by his solid mastery. The result was astounding acclaim. For the rest of that season Toscanini conducted eighteen operas, all with absolute success. Thus began his career as a conductor, at age 19.
Actors: Zubin Mehta (actor), Geno Lechner (actress), Itzhak Perlman (actor), Nancy Kennedy (editor), Vlasto Peyitch (actor), Helen Whitney (miscellaneous crew), Josh Aronson (producer), Josh Aronson (director), Josh Aronson (writer), Joshua Bell (actor), Tami Leon (producer), Jack Luceno (actor), Lucas Groth (miscellaneous crew), Pinchas Zukerman (actor), Doree Simon (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Some stories get lost in the turmoil of their times. It is often only in retrospect that we can discover the true shapers of history. One such man is the prodigious Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman. Orchestra of Exiles explores this great man's 4-year odyssey, which culminates in the founding of the orchestra that would become the Israel Philharmonic. His fascinating story touches many of the major themes of the 20th century and the unfolding drama of his life is riveting. During the darkest days of a Europe being torn apart by anti- Semitism and Nazi aggression, Huberman's extraordinary efforts saved hundreds of Jewish families from the approaching holocaust and his achievements changed the landscape of cultural history. Before the Nazis came to power Huberman was focused only on building his own monumental career but witnessing Hitler's agenda was a call to action that Huberman could not ignore. Huberman's personal transformation and subsequent heroic struggle to get Jewish musicians out of Europe to found this orchestra will be at the heart of this film.
Keywords: anniversary, anti-semitism, emigrant, israel, jewish, moral-courage, musician, nazi, palestine, world-war-oneActors: Franco Castellano (actor), Stefania Sandrelli (actress), Antonio Siciliano (editor), Giorgio Capitani (director), Fritz von Friedl (actor), Francesco Scardamaglia (writer), Francesco Scardamaglia (producer), Nino Fuscagni (actor), Aurelio Marino (miscellaneous crew), Alberto Gimignani (actor), Sophie von Kessel (actress), Alessio Boni (actor), Marco Frisina (composer), Andrea Giordana (actor), Enzo Marino Bellanich (actor),
Plot: Vienna, 1924: Puccini, the world-famous composer of operas finds a confidante in the journalist Liza Berman, who will accompany him on a trip into his past: The unrequited love he feels for Elvira, a married woman, who secretly returns his feelings. As a 20-year-old he is living in Milan, in bitter poverty, and barely struggles along as a musician, but upon finishing his studies he makes quite an impression. Full of hope he applies to take part in a contest for opera composers, but he is turned down. Puccini had firmly counted on winning the prize money and now faces financial straits. Thanks to the librettist Fontana, his one-act opera "Le Villi" is performed all the same. The established music publisher Ricordi now commissions Puccini to write the opera "Edgar", which turns out a flop. When Elvira leaves her husband to live with Puccini, the lovers are beset by feelings of guilt. Puccini begins to doubt himself, but due to Ricordi's support, Puccini can write in peace. Soon he triumphs in opera houses all over Europe with "Manon Lescaut", but Ricordi demands fresh supplies. A former lover, who used to be a dancer in the Cabaret, brings the novel "Vie Bohème" to his attention, a subject, which his colleague Leoncavallo is already working on. But it is Puccini who prevails with Ricordi. When Puccini tries to get rid of the overbearing conductor Toscanini as well, Ricordi resists him. "La Bohème" becomes a giant success under Toscanini's musical direction. As Puccini later gets stuck in his work at "Tosca" he waits for inspiration at night in shape of his muse Antilisa, a shy mythological animal. Again Puccini experiences a triumph. Always on the lookout for a new subject, a frustrated Puccini travels to London. There he accompanies his friend Sybil Seligman to the theatre, where "Madame Butterfly" electrifies him. Back in Italy, he develops a platonic relationship with the servant girl Doria. Elvira fires Doria and makes Puccini promise never to see her again. The young woman commits suicide. After initially failing in Milan, "Madama Butterfly" triumphs a few months and several changes later in other European cities. In Vienna, Elvira surprises Puccini with the journalist Liza Berman, but by that time Elvira's love is above the slights Puccini has inflicted on her over the years. She demands that Dr. Landauer thoroughly examines her husband, who is suffering from a chronic sore throat. The final diagnosis shows a malign tumor of the larynx. Meanwhile, the work on "Turandot" has ground to a halt. Liza takes him along to a concert of contemporary music, which he finds fascinating and unsettling at the same time, because it makes him feel that his own music sounds old-fashioned by comparison. While undergoing treatment at a Brussels hospital, Puccini confesses to Elvira that he blames himself for Doria's death. During a sleepless night he tosses the unfinished score to "Turandot" into the fireplace, but Elvira saves the manuscript. Puccini dies not long after-wards. Milan, 1926: "Turandot" is performed for the first time in the presence of Elvira and their children Tonio and Fosca, with Toscanini at the baton. He has the performance interrupted at the exact spot where Puccini had to give up his composition.
Genres: Biography,Actors: Larry Weinstein (writer), Larry Weinstein (director), Michael Brandon (actor), Daniel Iron (producer), Carolina Giammetta (actress), Barry Jackson (actor), Joseph Long (actor), Sonya Di Rienzo (miscellaneous crew), Robert Swartz (editor), Arturo Toscanini (actor), Emmanuelle Pertus (costume designer), Valentina Chico (actress), Martin Bookspan (miscellaneous crew), Jennie Goossens (actress), Shana Collier (producer),
Plot: This film is a docufiction on the great Toscanini directed by well-known filmmaker Larry Weinstein; who pushes the boundaries of conventional documentary storytelling by borrowing tools from fiction films; including dramatic reconstructions and historical cinematic stylings.
Genres: Biography,Actors: Patrícia Tavares (actress), Márcia Breia (actress), Adelaide João (actress), Valentina Cortese (actress), Franco Nero (actor), Philippe Noiret (actor), Martin Benson (actor), Andrea Aureli (actor), Leon Lissek (actor), John Rhys-Davies (actor), Jean-Pierre Cassel (actor), Richard Shaw (actor), C. Thomas Howell (actor), Tarak Ben Ammar (producer), Elizabeth Taylor (actress),
Plot: In Rio de Janeiro in 1886, eighteen-year-old conductor Arturo Toscanini, in Brazil on an orchestra tour, is torn between an aging soprano attempting a comeback and a mistress his own age. Opera diva Nadina Bulichoff has interrupted her stage career for Dom Pedro II the emperor of Brazil. When Toscanini begins to coach his childhood idol for a return to the stage in "Aida," Nadina has fallen into deep depression. The conductor is instrumental in her transformation as her performance proves an ultimate triumph and she is back the top of her art.
Keywords: orchestra-conductor