Organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation from Queen's Hall, London
(Sole Lessees, Messrs. Chappell and Co., Ltd.)
Last Concert
The BBC Symphony Orchestra
Leader, Paul Beard
Conducted by ARTURO TOSCANINI
A Wagner Concert
Undoubtedly, Wagner was one of the greatest and possibly the most extraordinary figures in the history of music. By grim and ruthless determination and the power of an almost hypnotic personality he imposed the fruits of his genius upon an antagonistic and unwilling world. The opposition he fought against was partly of his own making and partly due to the revolutionary characteristics of his art, which had something new and vital to say. But today Wagner's music is accepted by everybody and he has become one of the most popular composers of the nineteenth century, and, possibly, of all times.
This evening Toscanini, who is one of the greatest of all Wagner conductors, is presenting a programme of some of the high lights of Wagner's orchestral music : starting with the youthful ' Faust' Overture, which clearly shows what a mighty composer of symphonic poems Wagner could have been, and ending with the great Funeral March in Götterdämmerung, which displays the master's genius at his most incandescent.