An unmissable biography
Max Loppert is gripped by Harvey Sachs’s new Toscanini tome
TOSCANINI: Musician of Conscience Harvey Sachs Liveright ISBN 2-370000-385888 864pp
Harvey Sachs’s third publication devoted to Arturo Toscanini, a monumental new biography, follows his earlier one (1978) and his edition of the conductor’s letters (2002). The need for a second biography – ‘completely new’, in the words of his explanatory Preface – was made imperative: first by the discovery of those letters, unknown until the 1990s and full of revelations about Toscanini’s extraordinarily complex private life, and then by the more recent coming-to-light of recordings made in secret by his son Walter – recordings which capture Toscanini in old age recalling the past with characteristic vivacity.
This material has resulted in a vast enrichment of Sachs’s command of his subject. ‘Monumental’ is surely the mot juste to describe the book’s length (864 pages plus index and other addenda) but equally the combination of thoroughness, clarity, psychological perspicacity and deep human feeling which distinguishes every page. Was such a study really needed of a long-dead conductor supremely eminent in his time but a cause of critical controversy thereafter? The reading supplies the answer: for all its massiveness the book proves unputdownable. It offers an in-depth portrait of an utterly extraordinary man simultaneous with a panoramic cultural and political history of his near-century of life and a no less wide-ranging analysis of all the areas of music and theatre over which he gained such staggeringly complete command.
What profusion of talents was early revealed! In his schooldays he acquired the nickname ‘genì’, the Parmesan dialect word for ‘genius’. As one follows the path of his many battles across the globe for moral correctness in every artistic sphere and probity in public life
– if not in his numerous amorous adventures – it becomes clear as never before that Toscanini the man, fiery, energetic, unassuming, extreme in mood swings and rigidly determined all at once, and his public behaviour (above all his unflinching stand against the rise of Fascism and Nazism) were all of a piece. Sachs’s Musician of Conscience subtitle precisely indicates the underlying theme of his magisterial achievement. HHHHH
GONE Min Kym Penguin Viking ISBN 978-0-241-26315-0 (hb) 248pp
Here’s the story of a real-life Gone Girl. When opportunistic thieves stole Min Kym’s £1.2 million Stradivarius in Euston Station in 2010, it wasn’t only the instrument’s insurers who gulped. The 31-yearold Korean violinist was devastated and fell into depression, unable to get up and unable to play: ‘It’s Gone! It’s Gone! But more than that… I’ve Gone too’. Slowly, she is now finding her voice again and coming to terms with a complex pyschological past. For all the thriller-like marketing and sometimes overly-staccato, melodramatic style, this is a pacy and memorable first-hand account of what it means to be a child prodigy.
Kym was undoubtedly that: she picked up the violin at six, a year later became the youngest-ever pupil at the Purcell School of Music, gave her professional concerto debut at 13… the list goes on. Music has long been her language and her life, the violin her true voice. She writes about pieces of music, composers and violinists with warmth and reverence that made me want to hear her play them (a companion CD is being released).
Yet this vast talent came with a price tag. Kym spells out the child prodigy’s lot: ‘We are cuckoos in the nest, oddities, freaks’. A photo of her as a child is not simply that:
‘It’s a picture of expectation.’ What that image doesn’t reveal is the many instances of exploitation – the teacher who takes a 13-year-old Kym on holiday, for instance, and then refuses to let her call her mother when he crashes the car and her cheekbone is fractured – or the fierce discipline needed to turn a prodigy into a fullyfledged pro. The emotional toll is sometimes underplayed: it’s near the book’s end that she mentions the anorexia of her teenage years. In her twenties, there’s a controlling boyfriend who undermines Kym and it’s when she ignores her gut instinct never to leave her valuable violin, on his insistence, that the theft takes place. The ins and outs of what happens next are best left to Kym, and although there are themes that could have been fruitfully further explored, you’ll find it hard not to be uplifted by the heartfelt concluding notes of hope. Rebecca Franks HHH
For all its massiveness, this book proves unputdownable
HI-RESOLUTION STREAMING SERVICE Tidal Masters featuring MQA £20 per month
For anyone not up to speed with the world of high-resolution audio, MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is a new format that promises better than Cd-quality sound (24-bit/96khz, as opposed to 16-bit/44.1khz) but needs just 20 per cent of the original file size. In fact MQA claims to deliver the original master recording just as the artist intended.
It’s great news for anyone sold on the convenience of digital streaming, but who is horrified by the sound quality, and thanks to a partnership with better than Cd-quality streaming service Tidal, there are now around 30,000 ‘Tidal Master’ MQA files available as part of its premium hi-fi subscription package. Sadly, classical music takes a back seat to pop, but there’s still plenty to enjoy – from legendary recordings by conductor Herbert von Karajan to recent releases by the Trondheim Soloists. Not being able to search by Master Recordings makes the process tedious, but it’s an issue that Tidal is working on.
When you do find something to listen to, the quality is sensational. Listening to conductor Simon Rattle’s Berlin Philharmonic recording of Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition
– tested here with a Meridian Explorer 2 DAC, Bowers & Wilkins P9 headphones and my Macbook Pro – is a delight, highlighting the flawless virtuosity of the performance.
It’s a little light on content to get five stars, but sign up for the 60-day free trial and listen for yourself as its streaming sound quality is terrific. tidal.com / mqa.co.uk ++++
BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES Onkyo H500BT £169.99
They might be a world away from the housebound Sennheiser HD800S, but these affordable high-resolution Bluetooth on-ear headphones from Onkyo are refreshingly good. The understated design of the H500BTS – available in black or white – looks lovely despite being made from a less than luxurious plastic, the ear pads are comfortable and won’t overheat your ears, the Bluetooth aptx connection is reliable and the 16-hour battery a huge bonus. They also benefit from on-ear touch controls, so swiping up or down controls volume, left and right switches between tracks, and a tap will pause your music.
Despite the creaky build quality, they’re a pleasure to use, and the wireless sound quality is enjoyable. Don’t expect string section-induced goosebumps on the train, but the mix is flexible. Plug them in – it’s the only way for them to become high-resolution – and if you’re playing quality music files or using a portable DAC (digital to analogue converter) you’ll notice an immediate improvement.
As mentioned, unless the H500BTS are connected to a music source they won’t be highresolution but if you’re in the market for a good-looking reliable pair of wireless headphones for everyday use you could do worse. www.onkyo.co.uk +++
STEREO BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS Ruark Audio MR1 2 £329.99
The original MR1 Bluetooth stereo speakers transformed my home office, reconnecting me with the joy of stereo separation after testing so many one-box systems. It also helped that they sounded superb. With updated frequency crossover settings and an upgraded amplifier, they are energetic with a precise, balanced sound that’s more engaging than the original.
Controls, inputs and looks have all been refreshed too, so as well as fixed grilles in a tactile fabric, there’s 3.5mm line-in to connect your Mp3/high-resolution player or turntable, plus a subwoofer output for boosting low-end frequencies. An optical input means you can use the MR1 2 to boost the sound from your TV and there’s a 12-hour battery pack (£60) for outdoor use.
Given the design, the pedigree and the sound quality of these speakers are superb. I wouldn’t recommend them as a main system, but they’re exceptional in a smaller space. www.ruarkaudio.com +++++