September 2010
Beginner
376 pages
12h 7m
English
August 1938. As Germany and Austria become tainted by the Nazi cloud, some musicians refused to perform there. Independent Switzerland provided the staging ground for a new classical music festival. On a beautiful afternoon in Lucerne, Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini lifted his baton to conduct Richard Wagner’s Siegfried-Idyll, a symphonic poem for chamber orchestra.
To ensure the nervous Toscanini would not be disturbed during the dress rehearsal and concert, city officials enacted extreme measures to reduce noise: all boat traffic, except regular transport boats, was ...
Read now
Unlock full access