Toscanini's Brahms 4 made with the BBCSO in June 1935 is outstanding. No British orchestra had up to that time played under the maestro and the anticipation in the weeks before his arrival in May 1935 was tangible. Toscanini had 4 concerts and upwards of 20 rehearsals were organised. The orchestra had been primed by Boult before Toscanini had even arrived to a state of heightened readiness and sure ensemble. They were a fine orchestra in any case, even rivalling the Hallé. The concerts were all broadcast by the BBC but as Queen's Hall was next door to Broadcasting House, Fred Gaisberg set up lines and the concerts were recorded by HMV too using two machines working in relay. The sound of the test pressings is tremendous for the era. Toscanini would not listen to them however and so they were never released. For me personally, the 1935 Brahms 4 is one of the great Toscanini recordings. The whole performance breathes so naturally, the control is assured yet there is a lyricism in the reading, achieved by his employment of a natural rubato, I don't hear as acutely in the later versions. In the early 90s, having just started working for a living, I spent a few of my Summer holidays down in London at the proms. I met a chap there, who must have been in his 80s then. He had seen Toscanini in the Brahms concerts at the RFH in 1952. Now, I know many said they were there, but this man really was. He could still recount the experience vividly and of course we can now hear those performances in great sound too. Still, for me its got to be Queen's Hall 1935 and the excitement of those first Toscanini concerts. By the way, my proms friend also saw Furtwängler doing Brahms in London after the war, but that's another story!