Arturo Toscanini.

Toscanini conducted the first concerts ever televised from Carnegie Hall in 1951-1952.

He could conduct 160 operas from memory.

Toscanini toured the United States in 1920-1921 with the La Scala Opera orchestra and in 1950 with the NBC Symphony; he also took the NBC Symphony to South America in 1940 and the New York Philharmonic to Europe in 1930.

Toscanini declined all but one honorary doctorate: from Georgetown University. Being called Dr. Toscanini meant nothing to him.

He raised orchestral playing standards by insisting on fidelity to the score, though he occasionally edited pieces — for example, cutting Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony to 45 minutes and altering the Waltz of the Flowers in The Nutcracker.

Toscanini earned $42,000 per season at the Metropolitan Opera, $110,000 per season with the New York Philharmonic, and $4,000 per concert with the NBC Symphony.

He idolized Giuseppe Verdi and first met him during rehearsals for the world premiere of Otello, when Verdi wanted to know who was playing second cello.

Toscanini could scarcely recall ever being kissed by his mother and always wondered if she ever really loved him.

The US Postal Service issued a 25-cent commemorative stamp featuring Toscanini on March 25, 1989, as part of the Performing Arts series.

He forbade the singing of encores during opera performances, insisting that opera is theater and should not be interrupted for audience demands.

Because of Toscanini, house lights are completely dimmed today during opera performances worldwide; he instituted this reform at La Scala Opera House.

Throughout his recording career from the 1920s to 1954, Toscanini was under exclusive contract to Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor; many alternative labels have released versions of these recordings, often of inferior quality.

In 1990 and over the next few years, RCA Victor issued on CD all of Toscanini’s recordings, including some never released; these were later withdrawn but eventually reissued in higher quality.

The classical CD label Guild has released restored editions of Toscanini concerts, including Verdi’s Otello, with supplementary material like announcer comments and rehearsal excerpts.

In December 1944, as the Battle of the Bulge raged, Toscanini conducted a two-part radio broadcast of Beethoven’s Fidelio, symbolizing the imminent overthrow of Hitler; the performance later appeared on records and CD.

Toscanini’s television concerts have all been released on DVD in the US, with volumes combined; the only single-concert DVD contains Verdi’s Aida due to its length.

The Tom and Jerry cartoon Carmen Get It! 1962 spoofed Toscanini’s ferocious temper posthumously, with Tom running into the orchestra pit at the Metropolitan Opera House.

At Giuseppe Verdi’s funeral in 1901, Toscanini conducted Va, pensiero; 56 years later, the piece was played at a memorial concert for Toscanini.

Toscanini is the only symphony orchestra conductor to have been featured on the cover of Time magazine three times — more than any other conductor; his death received a full-page obituary, while his rival Wilhelm Furtwangler’s death was covered in only one paragraph.

Modern critics often accuse Toscanini of setting tempos too fast, but they only seemed faster because the notes were articulated so precisely.

Toscanini was a perfectionist who refused to approve recordings he felt weren’t good enough; he approved only one of his four recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which became one of the biggest selling classical recordings of all time.

His first television concert on March 20, 1948, aired on the same day as the Academy Awards, but schedules did not conflict.

Toscanini was such a part of American culture in the 1940s that Bob Hope made a comic reference to him in the film My Favorite Brunette 1947.

Contrary to belief, Toscanini toured the US more than once; he also toured as conductor of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in the early 20th century.

After years of not releasing Toscanini recordings, RCA Victor has resumed reissuing them in box sets, such as The Beethoven Symphonies and The Verdi Recordings.

He received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Radio at 6336 Hollywood Boulevard and for Recording at 6725 Hollywood Boulevard.

Toscanini maintained that the Pope should have declared Ludwig van Beethoven a saint because of his accomplishments amid great personal suffering.

One of the many personalities mentioned in the song We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel.

A Monaco 2.60-euros postage stamp issued June 21, 2017, features Toscanini, commemorating the 150th anniversary of his birth; he conducted the New Year concert at the Monte-Carlo Opera in 1935.

He was born on exactly the same date as Gutzon Borglum.

In 1967, The Bell Telephone Hour telecast Toscanini: The Maestro Revisited, written by Harold C. Schonberg and featuring commentary by conductors Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, Erich Leinsdorf, and Milton Katims.

Toscanini’s temper in rehearsals is well documented; one famous instance is his outburst during a La Traviata rehearsal when the double basses were not together.

Born in Parma, Toscanini won a scholarship to the local music conservatory and studied cello; living conditions were harsh, with a menu consisting almost entirely of fish.

He resided at the Ansonia Hotel, 2109 Broadway, in Manhattan, New York.