Arturo Toscanini was born into a poor family that was imbued with republican ideals. One of his early teachers noticed that he could quickly memorise songs and poems, and suggested to his parents that he should be enrolled in the local conservatory of music. Although the conditions there were harsh he excelled as a student, graduating in 1885 after gaining the maximum number of points in his exams and receiving the highest honours in cello and composition, his formal subjects of study. He was immediately engaged by an Italian opera company which was about to undertake a tour of Brazil. After the local conductor who had been engaged vanished and the Italian assistant conductor was booed from the stage in Rio de Janeiro, his colleagues, knowing his brillia...