When Toscanini first conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1935, he described it as “one of the best orchestras I have ever conducted”. So began a relationship which flourished over the next four years. The present recordings were made when Toscanini returned to conduct the orchestra in 1937 and 1939, where, in addition to the technical virtuosity of these performances, more subjective characteristics are in evidence. A perky sense of humour in the First Symphony, a beautifully judged sense of mystery in the Fourth, and the drama of the first Leonore overture bear witness to the way in which the orchestra thrived under the baton of the maestro.