Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours (1952) Toscanini/NBC

Almicare Ponchielli “Dance of the Hours“ from La Gioconda Arturo Toscanini, conductor NBC Symphony Orchestra Recorded on July 29, 1952 at Carnegie Hall, New York Ponchielli’s opera La Gioconda was a great success and is still performed today. But the Ballet “Dance of the Hours“ is its high point in popularity, and has been long before it became iconic for the Hippo Ballerinas, Bubble Blowing Elephants, and Caped Crocodiles in “Fantasia“. (A laugh out loud high point in the movie, too!) Needless to say, the music works either way and Toscanini gives us an enjoyable performance with the NBC, without the slapstick accents added by Stokowski. Digital mastering (1991): RCA New York Field acoustic restoration (2024): Paul Howard - The Yucaipa Studio NOTE No, this is not stereo. A mono recording preserves field information in a different way than stereo, but it is still there. This restoration uses a process which makes it possible for this acoustic information to reproduce in the same manner as it occurred in the original studio itself. In engineering terms this is known as the “field characteristic“. That is what we are listening to here. In order for our posts to remain commercial-free, we do not monetize on this channel. If you wish to offer support for this kind of music and sound, you may make a donation to: