Polish conductor Artur Rodzinski (1892-1958) was born in Dalmatia, but moved to Lwow, Poland where he began his musical studies. He enrolled later at the Academy of Music in Vienna, where he studied with Josef Marx and Franz Schreker (composition), Franz Schalk (conducting), and Emil von Sauer and Jerzy Lalewicz (piano). He is most remembered for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic during the 1930s and 1940s. The recordings chosen for this release were made between 1955 and 1958, at the end of Rodzinski’s life, with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino). The Italian symphony orchestra is based in Turin and is owned by the state radio and television company RAI. Featured solo musicians on this recording include violinist Henryk Szeryng, soprano Adriana Martino, alto Anna Maria Rota, and bass Renato Capecchi.