There are a number of extant recordings of Toscanini conducting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but specialists agree that this exceptionally rare version, recorded in Buenos Aries in July 1941, is arguably the finest of them all. This concert marked Toscanini’s final appearance in South America – in which continent he had made his conducting debut at the age of 19 in 1886 – and it shows the fire and powerful energy in this of all works in a manner that could only be a performance conducted by the greatest Italian-born conductor of them all. The record also contains a performance of Beethoven’s Leonore No 3 Overture, a performance that concluded Toscanini’s last scheduled concert as chief conductor of the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York in 1936. This pair of great performances therefore has exceptional interest, and the sound has been specially remastered to the highest modern specifications.