Toscanini conducts Wagner

The famous conductor Arturo Toscanini had a long association with the music of Richard Wagner. When Wagner’s music was still new and revolutionary, Toscanini conducted the Italian premiere of “The Twilight of the Gods.” In the next month, our Met Broadcasts will feature the latter three of the Wagner Ring operas.  On this week's Classics of the Phonograph, Saturday at 11 am on WILL-FM, we will hear parts of a 1941 Toscanini broadcast of music from “Die Walküre” with soprano Helen Traubel and tenor Lauritz Melchior.