Maestro [Toscanini] at the piano, we began the concerto. Glancing at his score, I noticed that the cello part was virtually covered with pencilled fingerings and bowings. No cellist except me had seen the concerto. Surprised, I asked who had made the markings. / “I did,” said Maestro. / “Why?” / “Did you forget I was a cellist?” he said, smiling. “One does hear fingerings and bowings, and I wanted to know if yours would be the same as mine.” / Maestro banged on the piano in a true Kapellmeister manner. He spoke and he sang, and his spontaneity and vigor carried me away. By the end of our long and exhilarating session I had miraculously regained my strength, and I returned to the hotel in a exuberant frame of mind. << less