Asians are to be seen on classical podiums across America, but, as the author notes in a profile of Marian Anderson, a contralto whom Arturo Toscanini called a once-in-a-century voice, blacks make up just 2% of orchestral players.

ECONOMIST: Essays by the New Yorker's music critic

Despite his pre-eminence as a conductor, Toscanini was not infallible on musical matters.

ECONOMIST: Musical lives

This is the first collection of his letters, and, ample though it is, it represents only a small proportion of the huge number of letters that Toscanini wrote in a long life.

ECONOMIST: Musical lives

Toscanini ended a 17-year association with the orchestra.

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