I was wondering how critics and listeners reacted to the "golden age"
performers like Heifetz, Rubinstein, Horowitz, Tebaldi, Walter, Karajan,
Toscanini etc.  when their recordings were new and they were in their
primes.

We spend a great deal of time comparing our modern performers to these
giants of the past.  To whom were the "greats" compared when they were
young?  Given that in the 40's and 50's, recordings of the greats of
yesteryear were sonically inferior or simply unavailable, what were
discussions about music making like in that era?

I wasn't born yet, so I'd like to know.

When I first got into CM, the abovementioned were getting on in years
a bit, but were still alive and active for the most part.  I would be
curious as to what our 60 year-plus listeners remember about the good
ole days, and who were the giants of THEIR good ole days, the days before
today's legends were legends.

Kevin Sutton