Von Suppe–Poet and Peasant Overture

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In HOW OPERA BECAME GRAND OPERA
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One of the drawbacks to a youtube search is that it gives you more than you initially ask for. In our search for performances of Gershwin’s Concerto in F, we also found incredible treasures unrelated to Gershwin. However, they were related to Arturo Toscanini, the famed conductor with a witheringly fast tempo. Today, we are going to feature two overtures that Toscanini recorded with his famed NBC Symphony Orchestra.

The first is the Poet and Peasant Overture, composed by Franz von Suppe. The mood of the Overture varies, with moments of frenzied musical broadsides at the 4, 6 and 7:40 minute marks. The music is from an NBC broadcast on July 18, 1943.