Victor de Sabata
Encyclopedia
Victor de Sabata was an Italian
conductor
and composer
. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished opera
tic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi
, Puccini
and Wagner
. He is also acclaimed for his interpretations of orchestral music. Like his near contemporary Wilhelm Furtwängler
, de Sabata regarded composition as more important than conducting but achieved more lasting recognition for his conducting than his compositions. De Sabata has been praised by various authors and critics as a rival to Toscanini
for the title of greatest Italian conductor of the twentieth century, and even as "perhaps the greatest conductor in the world".
, at the time part of Austria-Hungary
, but now in Italy
. His Roman Catholic father Amedeo de Sabata was a professional singing teacher and chorus master, and his mother, a talented amateur musician, was Jewish. De Sabata began playing the piano at the age of four, and composed a gavotte
for that instrument at the age of six. He composed his first work for orchestra at the age of twelve. His formal musical studies began after his family moved to Milan
around 1900. In Milan, de Sabata studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, excelling at piano, violin, theory, composition and conducting, and graduating cum laude in composition, piano and violin. He would remain a virtuoso pianist and violinist up until the end of his life. In 1911 he performed in an orchestra under the baton of Arturo Toscanini
who influenced him to become a conductor. De Sabata's first opera, Il macigno, was produced at the opera house of La Scala
on March 31, 1917 to a mixed reception. It was frequently performed during the next few years.
, performing a wide variety of late-19th century and contemporary works. In 1925, he conducted the world premiere of L'enfant et les sortilèges
by Ravel
. Ravel said that de Sabata was a conductor "the like of which I have never before encountered" and wrote him a note the next day saying that "You have given me one of the most complete joys of my career". Ravel also claimed that, within twelve hours of receiving the score to L'enfant, the conductor had memorized it. In 1921, while still conducting opera at Monte Carlo, de Sabata began his career as a symphonic conductor with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
in Rome. In 1927 he made his U.S. debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
, substituting for Fritz Reiner
in the first eight concerts of the year. He did the same in 1928.
in concert starting in the 1921–1922 season, and conducted opera there from 1929. He became the principal conductor in 1930 in succession to Toscanini. Soon after taking up the post, he resigned because of a disagreement with the orchestra over the poor reception of his composition A Thousand and One Nights. Toscanini wrote him a letter in order to persuade him to return, saying that his absence was "damaging to you and the theater". De Sabata did return to La Scala, and continued in the post for over 20 years. However, he did not reply to Toscanini, and the two conductors remained estranged until the 1950s.
During the 1930s, de Sabata conducted widely in Italy and Central Europe. In 1933 he made his first commercial recordings with the Orchestra of the Italian Broadcasting Authority in Turin
, including his own composition Juventus. According to Benito Mussolini
's son Romano
, de Sabata was "a personal friend" of the Italian dictator, and gave "several concerts" at the leader's Villa Torlonia
home. De Sabata's friendship with Mussolini became another factor distancing him from his former mentor Toscanini.
In 1936, he appeared with the Vienna State Opera
. In 1939, he became only the second conductor from outside the German-speaking world to conduct at Bayreuth
when he led Wagner
's opera Tristan und Isolde
(Toscanini had been the first, in 1930 and 1931) . Among the audience at Bayreuth was the young Sergiu Celibidache
who hid in the lavatory overnight in order to surreptitiously attend rehearsals. That same year he made celebrated recordings of Brahms
, Wagner
and Richard Strauss
with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
. He also forged a friendship with the young Herbert von Karajan
. It is unclear why de Sabata was allowed to work in Germany by the Nazi
regime despite his part-Jewish background.
In the closing stages of the war, de Sabata helped Karajan relocate his family to Italy.
, de Sabata's career expanded internationally. He was a frequent guest conductor in London
, New York
and other American cities. In 1946 he recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
for the Decca
recording company. In 1947 he switched labels to HMV
, recording with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra
in Rome. These sessions included the premiere recording of Debussy
's Jeux
. He would go on to make more recordings with the same orchestra in 1948.
In 1950 he was temporarily detained at Ellis Island
along with several other Europeans under the newly-passed McCarran Act (the reason was his work in Italy during Benito Mussolini
's Fascist
regime). In March 1950 and March 1951 de Sabata conducted the New York Philharmonic
in a series of concerts in Carnegie Hall
, many of which were preserved from radio transcriptions to form some of the most valuable items in his recorded legacy.
De Sabata's base remained La Scala, Milan, and he had the opportunity to work with two upwardly-mobile sopranos: Renata Tebaldi
and Maria Callas
. In August 1953 he collaborated with Callas in his only commercial opera recording: Puccini
's Tosca
for HMV
(also featuring Giuseppe Di Stefano
and Tito Gobbi
along with the La Scala orchestra and chorus). This production is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera recordings of all time.
One critic has written that De Sabata's success in this Tosca "remains so decisive that had he never recorded another note, his fame would still be assured".
's Mitridate Eupatore with Callas was replaced at short notice by an acclaimed Cherubini
Médée
with Leonard Bernstein
. He resigned his conducting post at La Scala and was succeeded by his assistant Carlo Maria Giulini
. Between 1953 and 1957 he held the administrative position of "Artistic Director" at La Scala. This period was notable for a reconciliation with Toscanini (with whom he had had a cool relationship for twenty years) during a La Scala production of Spontini
's La vestale
in 1954.
De Sabata conducted only twice more, once in a studio recording of Verdi's Requiem
from June 1954 for HMV
, and for the last time at Arturo Toscanini
's memorial service (conducting the funeral march from Beethoven
's Eroica Symphony
at La Scala opera house followed by Verdi's Requiem in Milan Cathedral ) in 1957. The last decade of his life was devoted to composition, but with few results. Although Walter Legge
offered him an opportunity to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra
in 1964 and suggested that he write a completion to Puccini
's opera Turandot
, neither of these things occurred. He enjoyed solving mathematical
problems in his retirement . De Sabata died of heart disease in Santa Margherita Ligure
, Liguria
, in 1967. At his memorial service, the Orchestra of La Scala performed without a conductor as a mark of respect.
The "Award Victor de Sabata" is named after de Sabata. A prize for young musicians sponsored by the province of Genoa
and the region of Liguria
, the competition takes place in Santa Margherita.
with greater spontaneity and attention to orchestral color. He was exceptionally demanding of his players: according to one musician: "Those eyes and ears missed nothing ... the players had been made to work harder than ever before and they knew that, without having been asked to play alone, they had been individually assessed". On the podium he "seemed to be dancing everything from a tarantella
to a sabre dance
". Norman Lebrecht
describes him as "a musician whose mild manners turned to raging fury whenever he took stick in hand".. One critic used the phrase "lull and stun" to summarize his technique.
A violinist in the London Philharmonic Orchestra
compared de Sabata with Sir Thomas Beecham
, saying that while Beecham made the orchestra "red hot", de Sabata made it white hot. Another player described de Sabata's appearance when conducting as "a cross between Julius Caesar
and Satan
" . Double-bass player Robert Meyer, who has played under many leading conductors including Furtwängler
, Karajan
, Klemperer
, Giulini
, Walter
, Koussevitzky
and Stokowski
, describes de Sabata as "undoubtedly the finest conductor I have ever encountered". He conducted rehearsals, as well as concerts, from memory.
A musician who played under both Toscanini and De Sabata at La Scala compared them, saying,
Conductor Riccardo Chailly
reports that De Sabata would have the strings sing along with the trombone glissandi at the climax of Ravel's Boléro
, and that Chailly himself asks orchestras to do the same thing.
After de Sabata was shown the score for the first time of Elgar
's Enigma Variations
, the next day he conducted a rehearsal of the work from memory and pointed out several errors in the orchestral parts which no-one, including Elgar himself, had noticed previously.
During a rehearsal of Respighi
's Pines of Rome in London, de Sabata "demonstrated the bowing and fingering of the high cello part in the first movement by playing it—without even a glance at the part. The pianist asked for advice about the solo cadenza, which de Sabata also played by heart. In the rehearsal interval, he asked the flicorni
for the final movement to play their brass fanfares. They did. 'What are you playing?' he asked. 'It is an octave higher.' 'Can't be done, Maestro.' ... The Maestro borrowed one of their instruments and blew the correct notes in the right octave." (this anecdote is all the more impressive when one knows that the flicorno (saxhorn) is an instrument usually associated with brass bands and very rarely used in a symphony orchestra).
"A visitor [to La Scala] rehearsing Tristan
asked Victor de Sabata to take the baton while he tested the sound from the centre of the auditorium. Needless to say, the sound he heard was totally different from the one he produced. De Sabata, without uttering a word, asserted his dominance of the orchestra just by standing there".
When Herbert von Karajan
was making his own recording of Tosca in 1962, he would often ask his producer John Culshaw
to play selections from the De Sabata/Callas recording to him. Culshaw reports that "One exceptionally tricky passage for the conductor is the entry of Tosca in Act 3, where Puccini's tempo directions can best be described as elastic. Karajan listened to De Sabata several times over during that passage and then said, 'No, he's right but I can't do that. That's his secret.'"
The recordings that de Sabata made in the studio are, with some exceptions, considered less gripping than the best of his work in the concert-hall and opera-house. (This may be related to the fact that he is said to have hated making recordings). Fortunately there are now several unauthorized "live" recordings that demonstrate how exciting de Sabata could be on the podium (although the sound quality can be problematic). This contrast comes through in the two different versions of Richard Strauss
's Death and Transfiguration
and Verdi
's Requiem
listed below.
and, especially, Richard Strauss
(one early commentator went so far as to call de Sabata the older composer's "adoptive son"). They were quite successful in the 1920s, being performed by conductors such as Toscanini and Walter Damrosch
, but are little-known today, although Lorin Maazel
has them in his repertoire. One reason may be that de Sabata did relatively little to perform and publicize his own works, preferring that his music should succeed or fail on its own merits. Critical opinion on the merits of his compositions has long been divided. For example, a 1926 Time Magazine
review described his Gethsemani as "shallow, unoriginal music for which even the philanthropic genius of a Toscanini could not achieve distinction", while a critic for International Record Review
, writing in the early 2000s, said that the same work "contains some of the loveliest orchestral sounds I have heard in years".
, who was also de Sabata's pupil. His granddaughter Isabella de Sabata is married to conductor John Eliot Gardiner
. De Sabata's grandson Cristiano Ceccato, son of Eliana, is a former student of CAD pioneer John Frazer
and worked for architects Frank Gehry
and Zaha Hadid
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
and Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. He is also acclaimed for his interpretations of orchestral music. Like his near contemporary Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, de Sabata regarded composition as more important than conducting but achieved more lasting recognition for his conducting than his compositions. De Sabata has been praised by various authors and critics as a rival to Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
for the title of greatest Italian conductor of the twentieth century, and even as "perhaps the greatest conductor in the world".
Early life
De Sabata was born in the city of TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, at the time part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, but now in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. His Roman Catholic father Amedeo de Sabata was a professional singing teacher and chorus master, and his mother, a talented amateur musician, was Jewish. De Sabata began playing the piano at the age of four, and composed a gavotte
Gavotte
The gavotte originated as a French folk dance, taking its name from the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné, where the dance originated. It is notated in 4/4 or 2/2 time and is of moderate tempo...
for that instrument at the age of six. He composed his first work for orchestra at the age of twelve. His formal musical studies began after his family moved to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
around 1900. In Milan, de Sabata studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, excelling at piano, violin, theory, composition and conducting, and graduating cum laude in composition, piano and violin. He would remain a virtuoso pianist and violinist up until the end of his life. In 1911 he performed in an orchestra under the baton of Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
who influenced him to become a conductor. De Sabata's first opera, Il macigno, was produced at the opera house of La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
on March 31, 1917 to a mixed reception. It was frequently performed during the next few years.
1918–1929
In 1918 de Sabata was appointed conductor of the Monte Carlo OperaOpéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
, performing a wide variety of late-19th century and contemporary works. In 1925, he conducted the world premiere of L'enfant et les sortilèges
L'enfant et les sortilèges
L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first being L'heure espagnole...
by Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
. Ravel said that de Sabata was a conductor "the like of which I have never before encountered" and wrote him a note the next day saying that "You have given me one of the most complete joys of my career". Ravel also claimed that, within twelve hours of receiving the score to L'enfant, the conductor had memorized it. In 1921, while still conducting opera at Monte Carlo, de Sabata began his career as a symphonic conductor with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy. It is based at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At various times it has been known as the Symphony Orchestra of the Augusteo and Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the...
in Rome. In 1927 he made his U.S. debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
, substituting for Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
in the first eight concerts of the year. He did the same in 1928.
1929–1945
De Sabata conducted the orchestra of La ScalaLa Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in concert starting in the 1921–1922 season, and conducted opera there from 1929. He became the principal conductor in 1930 in succession to Toscanini. Soon after taking up the post, he resigned because of a disagreement with the orchestra over the poor reception of his composition A Thousand and One Nights. Toscanini wrote him a letter in order to persuade him to return, saying that his absence was "damaging to you and the theater". De Sabata did return to La Scala, and continued in the post for over 20 years. However, he did not reply to Toscanini, and the two conductors remained estranged until the 1950s.
During the 1930s, de Sabata conducted widely in Italy and Central Europe. In 1933 he made his first commercial recordings with the Orchestra of the Italian Broadcasting Authority in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, including his own composition Juventus. According to Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's son Romano
Romano Mussolini
Romano Mussolini was the fourth and youngest son of Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943...
, de Sabata was "a personal friend" of the Italian dictator, and gave "several concerts" at the leader's Villa Torlonia
Villa Torlonia (Rome)
Villa Torlonia is a villa and surrounding gardens in Rome, Italy, formerly belonging to the Torlonia family. It is entered from via Nomentana....
home. De Sabata's friendship with Mussolini became another factor distancing him from his former mentor Toscanini.
In 1936, he appeared with the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
. In 1939, he became only the second conductor from outside the German-speaking world to conduct at Bayreuth
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
when he led Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's opera Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
(Toscanini had been the first, in 1930 and 1931) . Among the audience at Bayreuth was the young Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache
- Biography :Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, and began his studies in music with the piano, after which he studied music, philosophy and mathematics in Bucharest, Romania and then in Paris...
who hid in the lavatory overnight in order to surreptitiously attend rehearsals. That same year he made celebrated recordings of Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
. He also forged a friendship with the young Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
. It is unclear why de Sabata was allowed to work in Germany by the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime despite his part-Jewish background.
In the closing stages of the war, de Sabata helped Karajan relocate his family to Italy.
1945–1953
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, de Sabata's career expanded internationally. He was a frequent guest conductor in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and other American cities. In 1946 he recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
for the Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
recording company. In 1947 he switched labels to HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, recording with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy. It is based at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At various times it has been known as the Symphony Orchestra of the Augusteo and Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the...
in Rome. These sessions included the premiere recording of Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Jeux
Jeux
Jeux is the last work for orchestra written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" , it was originally intended to accompany a ballet, and was written for the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev to choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the scenario, but...
. He would go on to make more recordings with the same orchestra in 1948.
In 1950 he was temporarily detained at Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
along with several other Europeans under the newly-passed McCarran Act (the reason was his work in Italy during Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's Fascist
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
regime). In March 1950 and March 1951 de Sabata conducted the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in a series of concerts in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, many of which were preserved from radio transcriptions to form some of the most valuable items in his recorded legacy.
De Sabata's base remained La Scala, Milan, and he had the opportunity to work with two upwardly-mobile sopranos: Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
and Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
. In August 1953 he collaborated with Callas in his only commercial opera recording: Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
for HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
(also featuring Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli...
and Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
along with the La Scala orchestra and chorus). This production is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera recordings of all time.
One critic has written that De Sabata's success in this Tosca "remains so decisive that had he never recorded another note, his fame would still be assured".
Heart attack and retirement
The Tosca recording was planned to be only the first of a series of recordings in which HMV would set down much of de Sabata's operatic repertoire. However, soon after the sessions he suffered a heart attack so severe that it prompted him to stop performing regularly in public. His decision to stop conducting has also been attributed to "disillusionment". His scheduled December 1953 La Scala performance of Alessandro ScarlattiAlessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
's Mitridate Eupatore with Callas was replaced at short notice by an acclaimed Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
Médée
Médée (Cherubini)
Médée is a French language opéra-comique by Luigi Cherubini.The libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann was based on Euripides' tragedy of Medea and Pierre Corneille's play Médée....
with Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. He resigned his conducting post at La Scala and was succeeded by his assistant Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
. Between 1953 and 1957 he held the administrative position of "Artistic Director" at La Scala. This period was notable for a reconciliation with Toscanini (with whom he had had a cool relationship for twenty years) during a La Scala production of Spontini
Gaspare Spontini
Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini was an Italian opera composer and conductor, extremely celebrated in his time, though largely forgotten after his death.-Biography:...
's La vestale
La vestale
La vestale is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Etienne de Jouy. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra in Paris on December 15, 1807 and is regarded as Spontini's masterpiece...
in 1954.
De Sabata conducted only twice more, once in a studio recording of Verdi's Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
from June 1954 for HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, and for the last time at Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
's memorial service (conducting the funeral march from Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Eroica Symphony
Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major , also known as the Eroica , is a landmark musical work marking the full arrival of the composer's "middle-period," a series of unprecedented large scale works of emotional depth and structural rigor.The symphony is widely regarded as a mature...
at La Scala opera house followed by Verdi's Requiem in Milan Cathedral ) in 1957. The last decade of his life was devoted to composition, but with few results. Although Walter Legge
Walter Legge
Harry Walter Legge was an influential English classical record producer, most notably for EMI. His recordings include many sets later regarded as classics and reissued by EMI as "Great Recordings of the Century". He worked in the recording industry from 1927, combining this with the post of junior...
offered him an opportunity to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
in 1964 and suggested that he write a completion to Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's opera Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, neither of these things occurred. He enjoyed solving mathematical
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
problems in his retirement . De Sabata died of heart disease in Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita Ligure
thumb|250px|Villa Durazzo.Santa Margherita Ligure is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 35 km southeast of Genoa, in the Tigullio traditional area.left|220px|thumb|16th century castle....
, Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, in 1967. At his memorial service, the Orchestra of La Scala performed without a conductor as a mark of respect.
The "Award Victor de Sabata" is named after de Sabata. A prize for young musicians sponsored by the province of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and the region of Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, the competition takes place in Santa Margherita.
Conducting style
De Sabata's conducting style combined the fiery temperament, iron control and technical precision of ToscaniniArturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
with greater spontaneity and attention to orchestral color. He was exceptionally demanding of his players: according to one musician: "Those eyes and ears missed nothing ... the players had been made to work harder than ever before and they knew that, without having been asked to play alone, they had been individually assessed". On the podium he "seemed to be dancing everything from a tarantella
Tarantella
The term tarantella groups a number of different southern Italian couple folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 6/8 time , accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized of traditional Italian music. The specific dance name varies with every region, for instance...
to a sabre dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...
". Norman Lebrecht
Norman Lebrecht
Norman Lebrecht is a British commentator on music and cultural affairs and a novelist. He was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph from 1994 until 2002 and assistant editor of the Evening Standard from 2002 until 2009...
describes him as "a musician whose mild manners turned to raging fury whenever he took stick in hand".. One critic used the phrase "lull and stun" to summarize his technique.
A violinist in the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
compared de Sabata with Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, saying that while Beecham made the orchestra "red hot", de Sabata made it white hot. Another player described de Sabata's appearance when conducting as "a cross between Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
" . Double-bass player Robert Meyer, who has played under many leading conductors including Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
, Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
, Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
, Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
and Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, describes de Sabata as "undoubtedly the finest conductor I have ever encountered". He conducted rehearsals, as well as concerts, from memory.
A musician who played under both Toscanini and De Sabata at La Scala compared them, saying,
Conductor Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. He started his career as an opera conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music.-Biography:...
reports that De Sabata would have the strings sing along with the trombone glissandi at the climax of Ravel's Boléro
Boléro
Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel . Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian ballerina Ida Rubinstein, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel's most famous musical composition....
, and that Chailly himself asks orchestras to do the same thing.
Criticism
Toscanini did not approve of De Sabata's conducting style or of many of his interpretations: he considered the younger man's gestures to be too flamboyant. Puccini wrote in a letter dating from 1920 that "although [De Sabata] is an excellent musician of the other school – that is, the modern school – he can't, and does not know how to, conduct my music."Anecdotes of musical abilities
There are several extraordinary anecdotes of Victor de Sabata's musical abilities.After de Sabata was shown the score for the first time of Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
's Enigma Variations
Enigma Variations
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the...
, the next day he conducted a rehearsal of the work from memory and pointed out several errors in the orchestral parts which no-one, including Elgar himself, had noticed previously.
During a rehearsal of Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's Pines of Rome in London, de Sabata "demonstrated the bowing and fingering of the high cello part in the first movement by playing it—without even a glance at the part. The pianist asked for advice about the solo cadenza, which de Sabata also played by heart. In the rehearsal interval, he asked the flicorni
Saxhorn
The saxhorn is a valved brass instrument with a conical bore and deep cup-shaped mouthpiece. The sound has a characteristic mellow quality, and blends well with other brass.-The saxhorn family:...
for the final movement to play their brass fanfares. They did. 'What are you playing?' he asked. 'It is an octave higher.' 'Can't be done, Maestro.' ... The Maestro borrowed one of their instruments and blew the correct notes in the right octave." (this anecdote is all the more impressive when one knows that the flicorno (saxhorn) is an instrument usually associated with brass bands and very rarely used in a symphony orchestra).
"A visitor [to La Scala] rehearsing Tristan
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
asked Victor de Sabata to take the baton while he tested the sound from the centre of the auditorium. Needless to say, the sound he heard was totally different from the one he produced. De Sabata, without uttering a word, asserted his dominance of the orchestra just by standing there".
When Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
was making his own recording of Tosca in 1962, he would often ask his producer John Culshaw
John Culshaw
John Royds Culshaw OBE was a pioneering English classical record producer for Decca Records. He recorded a wide range of music, but is best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, begun in 1958.Largely self-educated musically, Culshaw worked for...
to play selections from the De Sabata/Callas recording to him. Culshaw reports that "One exceptionally tricky passage for the conductor is the entry of Tosca in Act 3, where Puccini's tempo directions can best be described as elastic. Karajan listened to De Sabata several times over during that passage and then said, 'No, he's right but I can't do that. That's his secret.'"
Selected discography
- See also Victor de Sabata discographyVictor de Sabata discographyThis discography aims to include all published recordings featuring the conducting of Victor de Sabata.-Barber:-Beethoven:-Berlioz:-Brahms:-De Sabata:-Debussy:-Dukas:-Dvořák:-Franck:-Ghedini:-Giordano:...
The recordings that de Sabata made in the studio are, with some exceptions, considered less gripping than the best of his work in the concert-hall and opera-house. (This may be related to the fact that he is said to have hated making recordings). Fortunately there are now several unauthorized "live" recordings that demonstrate how exciting de Sabata could be on the podium (although the sound quality can be problematic). This contrast comes through in the two different versions of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Death and Transfiguration
Tod und Verklärung
Death and Transfiguration , Op. 24, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on November 18, 1889. The work is dedicated to the composer's friend Friedrich Rosch.Unusual for a composer of 25 years of age, the...
and Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
listed below.
- BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Fifth SymphonySymphony No. 5 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
, live performance with the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, New York, 1950 (currently available on Urania and Tahra: Urania is superior) - Beethoven, Eighth SymphonySymphony No. 8 (Beethoven)Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 is a symphony in four movements composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812. Beethoven fondly referred to it as "my little Symphony in F," distinguishing it from his Sixth Symphony, a longer work also in F....
, live performance with the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, New York, 1951 (currently available on Istituto Discografico Italiano) - BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Fourth SymphonySymphony No. 4 (Brahms)The Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. Brahms began working on the piece in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No...
, studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
1939 (currently available on Pearl) - DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, JeuxJeuxJeux is the last work for orchestra written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" , it was originally intended to accompany a ballet, and was written for the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev to choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the scenario, but...
, studio recording with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, 1947. The premiere recording of this work. (currently available on Pristine Audio and Testament) - Debussy, La merLa Mer (Debussy)La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre , or simply La mer , is an orchestral composition by the French composer Claude Debussy. It was started in 1903 in France and completed in 1905 on the English Channel coast in Eastbourne...
, studio recording with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
1948 (currently available on Testament) - PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, ToscaToscaTosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, studio recording with CallasMaria CallasMaria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
1953. De Sabata's and Callas's most famous recording. (currently available on EMI and Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
) - RespighiOttorino RespighiOttorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
, Feste RomaneFeste RomaneFeste Romane is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire...
, studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
, 1939 (currently available on Pearl)
- This recording was described as "quite simply, sensational, definitive...The piece blazes with colour" in Gramophone magazine.
- Respighi, Fountains of RomeFontane di RomaFontane di Roma is a 1916 work by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Pini di Roma. Each of the four sections is meant to depict one of Rome’s fountains during different periods of the day and night...
, studio recording with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, 1947 (currently available on Testament) - Respighi, Pines of Rome, live performance with the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, New York, 1950 (currently available on Urania) - SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Piano ConcertoPiano Concerto (Schumann)The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54, is a famous Romantic concerto by Robert Schumann, completed in 1845.Schumann had begun several piano concerti before this one: In 1828, he had begun one in E-flat major; from 1829-31 he worked on one in F major, and in 1839, he wrote one movement of a concerto...
, live performance with Claudio ArrauClaudio ArrauClaudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning from the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms and Debussy...
and the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, New York, 1951 - SibeliusJean SibeliusJean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, First SymphonySymphony No. 1 (Sibelius)Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 was written in 1898, when Sibelius was 33. The work was first performed on 26 April 1899 by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, in an original version which has not survived. After the premiere, Sibelius made some...
, live performance with the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, New York, 1950 (currently available on Urania and Nuova Era) - Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, Death and TransfigurationTod und VerklärungDeath and Transfiguration , Op. 24, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on November 18, 1889. The work is dedicated to the composer's friend Friedrich Rosch.Unusual for a composer of 25 years of age, the...
, studio recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
1939 (currently available on Pearl) - Richard Strauss, Death and TransfigurationTod und VerklärungDeath and Transfiguration , Op. 24, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on November 18, 1889. The work is dedicated to the composer's friend Friedrich Rosch.Unusual for a composer of 25 years of age, the...
, live performance with the Vienna Philharmonic, Salzburg, 1953 (currently available on IDI and Nuova Era) - VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, FalstaffFalstaff (opera)Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, live performance with TebaldiRenata TebaldiRenata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
and Stabile, La Scala, Milan, 1951 (currently available on Music and Arts, and Urania)- "[o]ne of the most remarkable performances of anything by Verdi ever captured on a disc." De Sabata "creates a performance of electric immediacy with an extraordinary attention to the score's detail and architecture."
- Verdi, MacbethMacbeth (opera)Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, live performance with CallasMaria CallasMaria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
, La Scala, Milan, 1952 (currently available on EMI)- Callas and de Sabata "bring an almost supernatural tension to Lady Macbeth's disintegration." "Despite the poor recorded sound, this comes close to dramatic perfection."
- "Victor De Sabata's inspired baton makes this performance a gem. Unfortunately, while De Sabata and most of the principals are perfectly fine, there is a severe stature gap in the title role. Mascherini is simply not adequate either to his colleagues or to Verdi's demands. Consequently, for much of the performance, Callas interprets alone. But her brilliant collaboration with De Sabata pays rich dividends."
- Verdi, RequiemRequiem (Verdi)The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
, live performance with TebaldiRenata TebaldiRenata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
, La Scala, Milan, 1951 (currently available on Urania)- "A total view of the work can be felt, also a keen ear for relevant detail... Here is the only representation of Renata Tebaldi's fervent, soaring soprano in music that ideally suited her, a poised 'huic ergo', finely floated 'sed signifer', electrifying, as is De Sabata, in the Libera me... All in all, this version takes a very high place in the discography of this work."
- Verdi, RequiemRequiem (Verdi)The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
, studio recording with SchwarzkopfElisabeth SchwarzkopfDame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
1954 (currently available on EMI)- Speeds are "positively grotesque... All are far below Verdi's metronome marks with disastrous results on the work's structure."
- WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, Tristan und IsoldeTristan und IsoldeTristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
, live performance with Gertrude Grob-Prandl and Max Lorenz, La Scala, Milan, 1951 (currently available on Archipel)
- Respighi, Fountains of Rome
- "[a] staggering performance in spite of its cuts, and the primitiveness of the recording". The Prelude to Act Three "is one of the most powerful interpretations of this heart-breaking music on record".
- Wagner, miscellaneous operatic excerpts, live performance with Eileen FarrellEileen FarrellEileen Farrell was an American soprano who had a nearly 60 year long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. While she was active as an opera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances...
and the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, New York, 1951 (currently available on Urania)
- Wagner, miscellaneous operatic excerpts, live performance with Eileen Farrell
Media
Compositions
De Sabata's compositions are written in a late-romantic style with similarities to RespighiOttorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
and, especially, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
(one early commentator went so far as to call de Sabata the older composer's "adoptive son"). They were quite successful in the 1920s, being performed by conductors such as Toscanini and Walter Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch was a German-born American conductor and composer. He is best remembered today as long-time director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and for conducting the world premiere performances of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F , and An American in Paris .- Biography...
, but are little-known today, although Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
has them in his repertoire. One reason may be that de Sabata did relatively little to perform and publicize his own works, preferring that his music should succeed or fail on its own merits. Critical opinion on the merits of his compositions has long been divided. For example, a 1926 Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
review described his Gethsemani as "shallow, unoriginal music for which even the philanthropic genius of a Toscanini could not achieve distinction", while a critic for International Record Review
International Record Review
International Record Review is an independent British monthly classical music magazine.Established in March 2000, it reviews classical music CDs, DVDs and books. CD reviews are divided into orchestral, chamber, instrumental, choral, vocal and opera, with DVD reviews, invariably of opera,...
, writing in the early 2000s, said that the same work "contains some of the loveliest orchestral sounds I have heard in years".
Published compositions
- Il macigno; 2 atti di Alberto Colantuoni ("The Rock", opera in 2 acts, 1917). Revised as Driada in 1935.
- Melodia per Violino (1918)
- Juventus: poema sinfonico ("Juventus: symphonic poem", 1919).
- Lisistrata (opera, after AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
, 1920). - La notte di Plàton: quadro sinfonico per orchestra ("The night of PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
: symphonic sketch for orchestra", 1923). - Gethsemani, poema contemplativo per orchestra. ("GethsemaneGethsemaneGethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
, contemplative poem for orchestra", 1925). - Mille e una notte: fiaba coreografica in 7 quadri ("1001 nights: choreographic fairy tale in 7 scenes", ballet, 1931).
- Incidental music for ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, 1934.
Recordings of de Sabata's compositions
- Juventus, studio recording with the Turin Orchestra of the Italian Broadcasting Authority conducted by the composer, Naxos, 1933
- La notte di Plàton, Gethsemani, Juventus, studio recording with the London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
conducted by Aldo CeccatoAldo CeccatoAldo Ceccato is an Italian conductor. He has worked as assistant to Sergiu Celibidache and was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1973 until 1977. He was music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 until 1990...
, HyperionHyperion RecordsHyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
, 2001 - Piano works, studio recording, Alessandro MarangoniAlessandro MarangoniAlessandro Marangoni is an Italian classical pianist.- Biography and career :Marangoni was born in studied piano with Marco Vincenzi, and, after a diploma summa cum laude, continued his studies at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole with Maria Tipo...
, piano; Bottega Discantica, 2007
Family connections
De Sabata's daughter Eliana (a film screenwriter ) is married to conductor Aldo CeccatoAldo Ceccato
Aldo Ceccato is an Italian conductor. He has worked as assistant to Sergiu Celibidache and was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1973 until 1977. He was music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 until 1990...
, who was also de Sabata's pupil. His granddaughter Isabella de Sabata is married to conductor John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
. De Sabata's grandson Cristiano Ceccato, son of Eliana, is a former student of CAD pioneer John Frazer
John Frazer
Pioneering computer technologies in architecture, urbanism and design, his early research was developed at the Architectural Association in London, Cambridge University, the University of Ulster, and at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he was Swire Chair Professor, Head of the School of...
and worked for architects Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
and Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
.
Quotes
- "I have in my mind a million notes, and every one which is not perfect makes me mad".
- "Conducting is a beastly profession".
Spelling of name
The capitalizations Victor de Sabata and Victor De Sabata are both found, and the first name is often given in the Italian form Vittorio, especially in Italy. However, examples of the conductor's autograph signature clearly show that he spelt his name Victor de Sabata with a lower-case "d", and contemporary playbills indicate that he used the first name Victor, even when performing in Italy.In concert
- Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, L'enfant et les sortilègesL'enfant et les sortilègesL'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first being L'heure espagnole...
, Monte CarloMonte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, March 21, 1925
On record
- Claude DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, JeuxJeuxJeux is the last work for orchestra written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" , it was originally intended to accompany a ballet, and was written for the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev to choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the scenario, but...
, Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa CeciliaOrchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa CeciliaThe Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy. It is based at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At various times it has been known as the Symphony Orchestra of the Augusteo and Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the...
, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, 1947
External links
- [ AMG AllMusic entry]
- Available recordings of de Sabata conducting, from arkivmusic.com
- Available recordings of de Sabata's compositions, from arkivmusic.com
- Biography from Naxos.com
- Brief obituary in Time Magazine (subscription access)
- CD Review, containing some interesting background information
- "Victor de Sabata, conductor", Remiscences by Robert Meyer
- "Victor de Sabata, his conducting style" by Robert Meyer
- "Victor de Sabata and the ladies" by Robert Meyer
- "Victor de Sabata and the critics" by Robert Meyer