To celebrate the end of World War II,
Arturo Toscanini and the
NBC Symphony Orchestra gave live radio broadcasts of
Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, "Eroica," and the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, the former on September 1, 1945, to mark Victory in Japan or VJ Day, and the latter on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe or VE Day. This digital restoration of the original analog recordings presents these performances in good if somewhat compressed sound, and the orchestra has a reasonably full presence with minimally distorted tone; all the instrumental colors come through, dynamics are natural and unforced, and virtually every detail of the scores can be heard without cranking up the volume.
Toscanini's tempos are quite fast in both works, and the excitement of both occasions is clearly communicated in the
NBC Symphony's brisk and agile playing; the ensemble conveyed a degree of bravado that perfectly suited its triumphant mood. There are occasional glitches in the recordings, presumably from scratches or bad splices, as well as some coughing and a few spots where humming --
Toscanini's? -- is audible, but on the whole these recordings are extraordinarily clean for their time and the small amount of audience noise is remarkable. While this CD properly belongs in the historical recordings category, listeners who aren't afraid of imperfect reproduction may still find it rewarding; those who specialize in memorabilia from the era may regard this as a fine addition to their collections.