Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra: The Television Concerts, Vol. 4 - 1948-52,

"There are a lot of unexpected attributes to this DVD release, of the November 3 and December 29, 1951 telecasts by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. For starters, it offers exceptionally good sound -- as the first Toscanini telecast from Carnegie Hall, it avoided the sonic pitfalls associated with Studio 8-H at Rockefeller Center, whence prior telecasts had originated; as a result, the DVD has required less of an upgrade in sound than earlier parts of this release cycle. But in addition, the camera placement for the two broadcasts is especially fortuitous, offering beautifully clear shots of the members of the orchestra as well as the Maestro himself -- the producers, having mastered something of the art of presenting an orchestral concert over six previous telecasts, and learnt the best angles to use in Studio 8-H, were busy experimenting all over these two broadcasts from Carnegie, especially the first one, and the camera lens roamed freely (and sometimes seemingly randomly) across the stage, showing us the orchestra in action in greater length and detail than we'd ever seen it before. The vivid musical textures, coupled with the wide array of angles and shots -- many of which are astonishingly clear and sharp today, off of these more than half-century-old kinescopes -- make this disc a powerfully moving viewing experience; it's easy for someone coming in late to either classical music or the art of Toscanini (and this reviewer was born only a little more than six weeks before the conductor passed on) to get a grasp not only of the music but also the allure of Toscanini; his charisma as well as his art are on display here in abundance. As to the program, it is drawn from the heart of his repertory, symphonic to operatic, and encompassing the Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor, the overture from Weber's Euryanthe, and a brace of Wagnerian highights in the second concert presented here. The chaptering is generous, the menu is easy to use (and opens automatically), and the whole release is one of the best in an impressive series of five DVDs, surpassed only by the preceding volume containing Verdi's Aida."