Toscanini – The Maestro (84 min).  Arturo Toscanini (1867 – 1957) was, and is, considered by many to be the greatest conductor of all time.  He was a dictator to an orchestra, and a voice of freedom to humanity.  He often used his fame to make political statements.  He refused to conduct in Germany and Italy while they were under the rule of fascism.  Toscanini was most associated with La Scala in Milan, but he often came to America for guest appearances.  Consequently, when he left his homeland, he settled in this country.  The NBC Symphony was created specifically for Toscanini to perform radio broadcasts for NBC and recordings for RCA Victor.  He was always faithful to the composer’s intentions.  However, he sometimes “improved” performances when he thought the composer would have or should have done it that way.  In a recording of the storm section from Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony there are some kettledrum rolls to imitate thunder, and one without the drum.  Toscanini added the kettledrum because Beethoven “should have” done it.   In a broadcast recording of act 2 of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice the Dance of the Furies has an awkward pause just before the end.  Toscanini filled it with a tam-tam smash.  The tam-tam was added to the orchestra after Gluck’s time.  Surely, Gluck “would have” filled this space if the instrument had been available.  If divine spirit ever visited a conductor, it was Toscanini.