Verdi, Wagner and Sousa for the Red Cross

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

When the United States entered World War I, American animosity against all things German resulted in a ban on German symphonic music and operas. During World War II however, musically speaking, things were different. With America at war with Germany and Italy, music by Wagner and Verdi, for example, continued to be performed in our concert halls and opera houses.

In fact, just as the Nazis tried to appropriate German classical music for their propaganda purposes, the Allies adopted the opening notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 as a Morse Code “V” for Victory motive, and in our wartime propaganda, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, accompanied images of Allied bombers racing through the clouds to strike German cities.

On May 25, 1944, the combined orchestras of the New York Philharmonic and the NBC Symphony presented a Red Cross Benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, with Arturo Toscanini conducting. The first half of the program was all-Wagner, the second half, all-Verdi. During the intermission, New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia auctioned off maestro Toscanini’s baton.

As a grand finale, after the German and Italian music, Toscanini closed with a rousing all-American encore — his own arrangement of John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.

So, as Walter Cronkite would put it: “That’s the way it was, May 25, 1944.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Richard Wagner (1813-1883): Ride of the Valkyries, from Die Walküre; New York Philharmonic and NBC Orchestra; Arturo Toscanini, conductor; Radio Years 71/72

John Philip Sousa (arr. Toscanini): Stars and Stripes Forever; New York Philharmonic and NBC Orchestra; Arturo Toscanini, conductor; Radio Years 71/72