Editing Philharmonia Orchestra (section)

===1950s: Karajan and Toscanini===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S47421, Herbert von Karajan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=young clean-shaven man, with dark, slicked back hair; he is studying a musical score|[[Herbert von Karajan]] (1938 photograph)]]

By the early 1950s the conductor most associated with the orchestra was Karajan, although he was not, officially or even unofficially, its chief conductor.<ref name=p55/> He chose to work mainly with the Philharmonia and came to London for long spells twice or three times a year giving concerts and making recordings.<ref name=p55>Leggatt, p. 55</ref> Legge's practice of tying concerts in with studio recordings ensured longer than usual rehearsal time, paid for by EMI.{{refn|A typical example occurred in late 1956, when Legge scheduled three Brahms symphonies for recording by Klemperer and the Philharmonia days before their live performances of the same works at the Festival Hall, ensuring that EMI would effectively subsidise the rehearsals for the concerts.<ref>Hunt and Pettitt, p. 299; and "Philharmonia Orchestra", ''[[The Times]]'', 29 September 1956, p. 2</ref>|group= n}} In the early years, Karajan's concerts were criticised in the press for their unadventurous programming;{{refn|The music critic of ''[[The Times]]'' called it "a virtuoso conductor's procession of ''chevaux de bataille''".<ref>"Mr Herbert von Karajan", ''[[The Times]]'', 3 December 1949, p. 7</ref>|group= n}} but a financially hazardous tour of Europe in 1952 necessitated programmes that were box-office attractions.<ref>Pettitt, p. 56</ref> Karajan told the orchestra that he felt it his duty to show Europe "the exceptional qualities of tone, aristocracy and vitality" of the Philharmonia's playing.<ref>British Orchestra to Tour Europe", ''[[The Times]]'', 8 March 1952, p. 2</ref> The violinist [[Joseph Szigeti]] commented that the Philharmonia "showed the Continent for the first time all the qualities of perfect chamber-music playing raised to the power of a great symphony orchestra."<ref>Pettitt, p. 59</ref>

While the orchestra was in Italy it so impressed [[Arturo Toscanini]] that he offered to come to London to conduct it.<ref>Schwarzkopf, p. 96</ref> His two concerts at the Festival Hall in September 1952 (the four symphonies of [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]]) were a critical and commercial success.<ref>[[Neville Cardus|Cardus, Neville]], "Toscanini's Magic: Playing that Disarms Criticism", ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', 2 October 1952, p. 5; "Second Toscanini Concert", ''[[The Times]]'', 2 October 1952, p. 9; {{cite journal|last=Goddard|first=Scott|title=London Concerts|jstor=935102|doi=10.2307/935102|journal=[[The Musical Times]]|date=November 1952|pages=511–512|volume=93|number=1317}} {{subscription required}}; and Pettitt, pp. 61–62</ref> In the same year, Furtwängler conducted the orchestra and soloists headed by Flagstad in a recording of ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]'' that has remained in the catalogues ever since.<ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Tristan+und+Isolde%2C+Furtwangler%2C+Flagstad%2C+Philharmonia&qt=results_page "Tristan und Isolde, Furtwangler, Flagstad, Philharmonia"], WorldCat, retrieved 30 June 2018</ref> Legge realised that Furtwängler was in declining health and that sooner or later Karajan would succeed him as chief conductor of the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] and [[Salzburg Festival]] and be lost to the Philharmonia. Legge began to seek out suitable successors.<ref>Pettitt, p. 60</ref>