One would expect the Franck Symphony to be a perfect vehicle for Toscanini, and so it proves. Yet he didn't conduct the work again in concert after this occasion in 1946, and there was no commercial recording. Fortunately the sound-quality here is more than acceptable for its day, and preserves a remarkable reading. He keeps the first movement very much on the move, to its great advantage. Every bar is crystal clear, yet expressed with rare nobility and fervour, while control of rubato is masterly. The slow movement is superbly poised, grave and aristocratic, and the finale has tremendous energy and commitment. It's interesting to me that Toscanini's forward-moving interpretation has many points in common with Boult's deleted RCA recording. I once asked Sir Adrian about his unusual interpretation, and he told me that he had been influenced through hearing the work conducted by Franck's pupil, Gabriel Pierne. So Toscanini's approach may not be a million miles from Franck's own ideas as to how his work should be performed.
We can all hear how Roussel himself conducted his Festin de l'araignee suite since his Pathe recording has been reissued by Philips ( (CD) 422 138-2PLC2, 4/90). Toscanini conducted this work on nine occasions, and again this 1946 performance was his last. He conducts with a good deal of rhythmic robustness, as did Roussel. Sometimes his tempos are faster than those of the composer, but delicacy and poetry are present in his reading, too. Here the recording is not so good, alas, and there are some patches of distortion. I feel that he conducts the outer sections of Debussy's Marche ecossaise too quickly, so that the piece's Scottish flavour is dissipated. But the slower middle section is beautifully shaped.
Even the writer of this disc's notes feels that Meyerbeer's Dinorah Overture fits uneasily in a collection of 'French' works, and so do I. It is quite a good, lively piece, however, and most unusually for an overture incorporates a section with chorus (which is unnamed). Toscanini conducts with great gusto. The sound here and in the Debussy is reasonably satisfactory.'