Toscanini unreleased

In the 150 anniversary since his birth we propose a documentary about the Italian director Arturo Toscanini and his quest for perfection in music.

A great conductor, the recollections of his grandchildren and some previously unseen images from the family archives: these are the ingredients of the documentary “Toscanini Unreleased”, filmed in the places closest to the maestro’s heart – Lake Maggiore, Milan, Lucerne, New York and Riversdale. To mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, we are presenting a portrait of an artist with an immense personality who led an extraordinary life, a man of great virtues but not without vices. It also shows a Toscanini full of contradictions, a shy and unsatisfied character who was nonetheless capable of remarkable outbursts against his collaborators, though he demanded more of himself than of others; he was never satisfied with his artistic results as he toiled in search of unattainable perfection.

Toscanini was born penniless in Parma and died a rich man in New York. His life spanned two centuries and took in some of the most important cultural events of the time. From the Lucerne Festival, which he inaugurated to great acclaim in 1938, to the reopening of La Scala in Milan after the devastation of the Second World War. The documentary depicts a well-rounded man whose interests took in art, society and the historical era through which he lived. He was a firm believer in the idea that the union of the artist and civil society was fundamental in any society which wished to remain truly modern and stay close to its people.

International sales: Eleonora Maraffi, eleonora.maraffi@rsi.ch / salesoffice@rsi.ch

Original title Toscanini inedito. Tra ricordi e immagini mai viste
English title Toscanini unreleased. Never seen before images and memories
Genre Documentary
Production year 2008
Duration 64
Production Company RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera
Recording location New York, Milan, Switzerland