He conducted at La Scala and worked extensively for Italian radio, conducting well received readings of Wagner's Tannhäuser and Tristan, and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina. He re-established his presence as a recording artist through a contract with Westminster Records, for whom he recorded extensively with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (under the pseudonym "Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of London") from 1955. His final recordings were for EMI in 1958.
By this time, the state of Rodziński's health had become fragile. He was warned by his Italian doctor that further conducting activity would put his life at risk. However, he returned to Chicago in 1958 to conduct Tristan once again, this time with the Chicago Lyric Opera and soprano Birgit Nilsson. His return was a triumph, but these were his last performances and he died shortly afterwards.
The stereo version was originally released on 2-track reel-to-reel audio tape. On LP it was initially released only in mono, then later in stereo as stereo record albums became available in 1958. The stereo Nutcracker was re-released in 2001 by Deutsche Grammophon on compact disc.