Yehudi Menuhin added another anecdote to the Toscanini legend. In an interview with syndicated Columnists Tex & Jinx McCrary, Menuhin told of the time he and Toscanini were rehearsing in the peace & quiet of a hotel room.
"The Maestro was playing the piano when the telephone rang. He was so absorbed in the Beethoven concerto that he positively refused to recognize this foreign noisebut for me it was like trying to ignore a fire siren. Toscanini kept right on playing, and I was certainly going to continue as long as he did, but I could feel the pressure, the temperature rising....