"The Internationale" conducted by Arturo Toscanini--originally BANNED

In 1944, to honor the Allied victory in Italy, the great Arturo Toscanini--a refugee from Fascisim in his home country--decided to conduct a performance of Verdi's "Hymn of the Nations". "Hymn" is a composition that Verdi orginally built around the national anthems of Britain, France, and Italy. In order to honor all four of the major Allies, Toscanini decided to add "The Star Spangled Banner" for the U.S. and "The Internationale" for the Soviet Union. The music was performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra, with the Westminister Choir and the great tenor Jan Peerce as soloist; conducted by Toscanini. It was filmed as a featurette to be shown in movie theaters, and was narrated by Burgess Meredith.

In the early 50's, at the height of the Red Scare,U.S. censors removed the portion of this performance that featured the "Internationale".

For years this sequence in the original featurette was considered forever lost. But recently a copy of this missing piece of film was rediscovered, and now this rousing rendition of the Internationale--together with chorale and orchestra under the direction of a legendary conductor--can now be enjoyed again.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The Internationale
• Toscanini
• Hymn of the Nations

[TheSmirlis]

Glory to Communism!

Viva la revolution!

[UDSS]

So much for freedom of speech. The capitalists of the USA censored The Internationale, this shows again how anti-democratic those right-wing scum were. The Stalinist USSR was bad, but the Capitalist USA was no way better in the 50's.

[BrendanIsCool]

@UDSS I'm sorry sir, but you cannot be this deluded.

[SAOS451316]

@Gheorgyi You implied that because Communism was 'utopian', Capitalism was superior. I merely pointed out that Capitalism is the more utopian. Oppression was most visible because portraying that was beneficial to Capitalist countries. Real Communism existed (and still does) in numerous places, but that doesn't make the news. Human behavior is the product of society and a few million years of evolution. "Human nature", as you call it, consists of little more than fear and sex.

[Gheorgyi]

@SAOS451316 Did you find in any of my writingsI the idea that capitalism can exist forever??!!! Oppression was the most visible way, go ask the peopleof Mittel- and Eastern Europe, and even the Russians. Human behaviour is the product of human nature.

[SAOS451316]

@Gheorgyi I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. That statement doesn't make sense. Again, no you have not. No, what you know of is at best a shadow of the idea. The idea that Capitalism can exist forever is far more utopian, and oppression was not the only way Communism was tried. Human nature is a myth. There is only human behavior. Present conditions result in a generally greedy person. In a society with different conditions, other traits can be brought forth.

[TheTollundWoman]

@MrReco12

you know the British and American intelligence services gave military aid to Communist partisans, right? you know we were ON THE SAME SIDE

[TheTollundWoman]

@MrReco12

I've said this again and again. Communists in the ww2 resistance were HEROES. i don't care that they were communists, they fought to stop the worst genocide in history, therefore they are heroes just as much as the American and British soldiers- who they considered comrades, not "imperialists."

[MrReco12]

@TheTollundWoman

Also by socialist partisans, they did capture Mussolini you know.

You would have been frothing at the mouth!

[Swertzer]

@Gheorgyi

But you have very much characteristics of a nazi douchebag...

And,guess what?

And stop being so fucking stereotyping about communism,it's like I watch fucking cnn and bbc...

[TheTollundWoman]

@MrReco12

The Liberation of Italy by American GIs? You mean the Yankee Imperialist intervention against Il Duce? um, I would not only be cheering, I'd have been one of the liberators had i been born a few years earlier.

[Gheorgyi]

@Swertzer I have to laugh now - it almost sounds as though we were playing "my dad can lick your dad"