Of all the great conductors who were active during the 20th century, none left a greater recorded legacy than Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) - a man whom many regard as the greatest conductor of them all. His career was catapulted by being called upon, as a teenaged cellist in the orchestra, to conduct that evening's performance of Verdi's Aida - which he did, from memory. From that point, Toscanini's career was never in doubt; before World War I he had been appointed to the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and after the War was over, in 1920-21, he brought the orchestra of La Scala Opera, Milan, to the United States