Review: Finally, Szell's Warner Recordings

[@HassoBenSoba]

One the the great benefits of Dave Hurwitz's site is its function as a FORUM for those of us who share our passion for music and musicians. The Szell discussion does my heart good. My freshman year at the Cleveland Institute was Szell's LAST season ('69-70), and I had the great pleasure to hear him in rehearsal and concerts, and also to work regularly and interact with many of Szell's principal players, including Bernie Adelstein, Myron Bloom, Bob Marcellus, John Mack and Felix Kraus (oboes), Alice Chalifoux (harp), Cloyd Duff and Richard Weiner (tymp and percussion..) Sorry it this seems like name-dropping, but being a part of "the scene" back then was something I treasure more-and-more these days, especially since it's gone forever. And they were all wonderful people, too. By all means, read the 4 books listed below (Donald Rosenberg, Michael CHARRY, Larry Angell and Marcia Kraus (whose late husband Felix..history's greatest English Horn player (starting in 1980) IMHO..was also a wonderfully generous friend). Michael Charry's book is especially detailed and insightful. If you're interested, I posted a story about Szell's "TIl Eulenspiegel" on Dave's episode on that work. Szell was the GREATEST..and so was his Orchestra. LR

[@jeffreymilarsky3246]

I agree about this Dvorak Sym #8. This later version, like the Schubert #9, shows a more burnished and more human side to Szell. He mellowed with age, but that orchestra still played lights out for him!

[@ScottAReid]

you should receive a commission. i ordered today after watching your video and it is arriving within a few minutes (Amazon). I think I will start the listening with his last recording (the 2nd to last disc). I also have the Big Box coming (after watching your video), but that will take a week or so to arrive. your knowledge is impressive and I love your videos. informative and nicely done. always. thanks!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Awesome, thank you!

[@FedorovaTakser]

Great find! Thank you! Vienna Philharmonic is definitely one of the finest orchestras.

[@HankDrake]

I was so delighted to receive this set, as Szell's EMI/Warner recordings received short shrift on CD and I had to resort to ripped copies. I really love his last Schubert 9th and Dvorak 8th from this set - just a tad relaxed compared to the Columbia/Epic versions. By the way, Dohnanyi's Schubert 9th with the Cleveland is also quite fine - similar to Szell's in approach if a bit more lithe.

[@denbigh51]

And there’s now a new Cleveland Version of Schubert’s 9th on their house label - very well reviewed in the latest BBC music mag.

[@iptych]

Another great talk, for which many thanks. My old flute teacher Gareth Morris didn't like Szell at all, calling him 'a martinet'. He preferred working with Klemperer, but hey, great artists needn't always be likeable.

[@frankgyure3154]

Myron Bloom,Principal French Horn under Szell, had quite the contrary opinion

[@brentmarquez4157]

I've been reading all the literature and interviews I can find on Szell and have been amazed at how differently he could treat people. Some people loved him and some absolutely despised him, and I've read and heard stories of how he treated people that will bring a tear to your eye and also others that will make you boil with anger which give the impression of a manipulative, disturbingly shrewd, arrogant and selfish man. He was a human after all and came with all those complexities and contradictions of human nature. At the end of the day he was basically hell bent on creating the best orchestra in the world and did also happen to be extremely gifted musically, so as long as you didn't suffer in the wake of that maelstrom effort, the end result is one of the greatest orchestras the world has known for us to enjoy.

[@rookrach2012]

Schwarzkopf and Dieskau-the “fussy” lieder singers who influenced everyone approaching art song and orchestral song after them. Neither of the two forms have been as much fun as they were in the Lehmanns’ and Plançon’s day. I loved your video on lieder. It’s definitely, as you asserted, supposed to be much less constrictive for singers and players. I love the tempo changes and other indulgences that the greats of recording history’s First Age delighted in. And they played with the music at a volume that in a concert hall one could actually hear. I have been to several performances of orchestral song and have been almost entirely unable to catch the vocalists’ gargled lines from within the maelstrom (such their method made of even the prettiest chamber ensemble’s production) of the symphonic accompaniment. At least they were followed by great performances of Rachmaninov and Brahms symphonies. As for the artist under discussion here, Szell-WOW! I don’t have as many recordings of his as I should, but the ones I do have by turns mesmerize and electrify. His 40’s “Prague” Symphony recording is so much fun, a glorious whirlwind. It’s live, but I don’t mind at all. Szell was a conductor who handled himself well both in the performance hall and in the studio. His way with Czech music is breathtaking. And his Beethoven! I’m not a fan of Beethoven the orchestrator, and I find Beethoven’s style overall to frequently give his music the feel of something unfinished, but the way Szell interprets him-Szell’s are the only interpretations of Beethoven’s symphonies that make me want to love more than just the Allegretto of the seventh and two of the sixth’s movements. I’ve heard all of the great recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies, but Szell really had a special way with them. I want this box. 😉 Even despite the less than superlative performances of Casals and a certain lauded Beethovenian pianist whose hand, in the first complete recordings of Beethoven’s piano concertos and sonatas (or so these discs have long been advertised), I have never, anyway, been particularly enthusiastic about. Your channel is one of my absolute favorites on KZbin. So glad to see you’re doing well after your surgeries. As always, I have no suggestions or requests. You’re doing marvelously entertaining and informative (generally engaging) work, especially concerning vibrato, that huge problem in both the orchestral and vocal schools of classical music, on which you and your colleagues clarify beautifully. I read your formal essay on orchestral vibrato and loved loved loved it. As someone who is training in classical singing, I find everything you’ve offered very helpful to my broad and continuous research. 😄 My best to you and yours!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you very much!

[@brentmarquez4157]

Some have said that Szell was even better live than in the studio, and I happen to agree with this. I'm always amazed at how Szell kicks it up a notch in a live performance - gets my blood pumping every time. His live Prokofiev 5 is hair raising and even moreso than the studio recording (compare the last movement for example). I just discovered a live Brahms 4 that is indeed more lush, tragic and exemplary than the studio in my opinion (it's here on KZbin if you want to check it out - I think on incontrario musico's channel).

[@johnwright7749]

Great talk on a great conductor! My favorite Dvorak Cello Concerto is still Szell’s BPO with Fournier on DG. I bought the LP as soon as it was released, then got the cassette and now the CD. It was largely because of that recording that I as a member of the student concert committee at the U. of Wis. convinced our theater director to have Fournier come to Madison for a concert. I agree with you on Des Knaben Wunderhorn. I listen to Szell’s recording for the unsurpassed orchestral playing, but turn to Chailly for the vocal soloists.

[@Bezart34]

Great recording, that one!

[@thiinkerca]

Thanks for the recommendation david . I'll be getting it this weekend and excellent companions to my 20 disc toscanini box set and reiner complete columbia recordings 14 disc set . Nicely goes along with the stokowski box set as well of 19tj century born conductors .

[@AlexMadorsky]

Sounds like a worthy compilation overall. As far as I’m concerned - this is the absolute best Double Concerto - all three men working perfectly with each other and the orchestra. It’s one of the best Brahms recordings of any work, period. This video has inspired me to take out one of the more unusual CDs I own - a collection of Szell’s own works (before he renounced composition entirely in favor of solely the baton) performed by Cleveland Institute of Art students and faculty. I think I remember enjoying the music, conservative Romance of course, but he certainly made the right decision on where to focus his musical career.

[@frankgyure3154]

That would be an interesting listen. Is anything available out there today.

[@alejandrosotomartin9720]

Christmas has come in November.

[@Mooseman327]

Love Szell. #1 for me.

[@markfarrington5183]

Maybe this is the place to put in a plug for possibly the greatest Brahms DOUBLE CONCERTO ever: the live stereo 1966 performance - available on DOREMI - with Szell, Cleveland, Isaac Stern & Leonard Rose. The two headliner soloists surpass their earlier versions with Bruno Walter/NY and Ormandy/Philly. And Szell seems to mesh with them even better than he does with Oistrahk and Rostropovich. The DOREMI disc also has the only known recording of Szell's Beethoven TRIPLE CONCERTO (with Stern, Rose & Istomin).

[@toddschurk8143]

Yes! Agree completely, it's indispensable! There are also excellent broadcasts of the Beethoven violin concerto with Erica Morini (Cleveland, '67 stereo broadcast) and Edith Peineman (Cologne, '64 mono broadcast) floating around out there. Not too difficult to find.

[@jfddoc]

Totally agree about the Double Concerto!

[@olegroslak852]

I picked up the Oistrakh/Szell/Brahms on EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" series as a cd (real nice coupling of Oistrakh/Yampolsky doing the Brahms 3rd Violin Sonata). Pretty sure that was a domestic release (maybe it was released in Canada and not the US. Who knows).

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I think it was, but very, very briefly.

[@therealdealblues]

It was also released several years back in the Oistrakh EMI Box Set, but yeah, I don't recall a single disc recording outside the Great Recordings one mentioned.

[@frankgyure3154]

EMI,towards close to the end of its existence,did a few SACD’s and one was a set of the Brahms Violin Concerto/Oistrakh,the Brahms Double Concerto with the mentioned artists and the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Karajan,BPO,etc.

[@frankgyure3154]

DH,as you touched upon,50 years after his death,Szell continues to have an impact in the classical world. One example;The Szell box from Sony. Sold out and being offered at resale at $1300-$1500.

[@frankgyure3154]

This is becoming an interesting conversation. Talking about this particular release but also about SZELL

[@Don-md6wn]

There are a lot of out of print classical recordings and box sets being offered at ridiculous prices. It doesn't mean anybody is paying those prices.

[@daviddavenport9350]

An amusing if perhaps apocryphal story about Szell's need for control was told to me: Szell was a duffer at golf, but he was playing at the Akron golf course and flailing about, when a younger man approached him and asked if he might play through....Szell aquiesced and the man teed off and hit a shot 250 yards straight down the fairway toward the pin. Szell was watching.....and remarked, "a very good shot, but perhaps if you put your feet a little closer together and drop you shoulder a bit more, it would be even better!" The younger man thanked Szell for his observations.....to which Szell replied....'I did not catch your name?' The man retorted.....my name is Palmer.........

[@sergeabud7046]

The Mozart-Strauss disc has been available in the EMI Références series. A rather long time ago though...

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

As I said...

[@carlcurtis]

I can't claim to know too much about it, but I wonder whether Stokowski's influence at Philadelphia didn't live on quite a while--chiefly in creating the "Philadelphia" sound. Of course, then came Ormandy. So I get the point with Szell at Cleveland.

[@brentmarquez4157]

Thank you for the review - I just picked this up. I grew up in Cleveland after Szell's time and went regularly to Cleveland Orchestra concerts in the 90s and earlier 2000s. I still have memories of some of those concerts because they were so magical and made me feel like I was having an out of body experience. After living in Boston and seeing other Big 5s (and the great orchestras of Europe) to compare, I realized how lucky I was to have had regular access to Cleveland - no other orchestra has consistently made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and left as strong a musical impression on me as the Cleveland. I'm not crazy about Franz Welser Moest, though and have always been dumbfounded that a better conductor couldn't have been found for such a national gem - I think the orchestra has deteriorated a bit in quality since he's taken the reigns and lost some of the musical sophistication and nuance, but they are still world class despite FWM worst efforts - such a testament to Szell's efforts decades ago.

[@antoineduchamp4931]

Brent, you were born at the right place and time to hear your wonderful Cleveland orchestra. I live in the UK, and am lucky to have heard all of the great European orchestras... alas the greatest of these, the Berlin Philharmonic, are not at all what they used to be. But they have a new conductor, and he is good! I know what you mean about Franz Welser Moest.. I heard him once and was not impressed. I have heard the Boston symphony orchestra, and they are just wonderful. America is blessed with many great orchestras..

[@brentmarquez4157]

@@antoineduchamp4931 I lived in Boston for a few years and attended BSO concerts regularly. Some say that Seiji Ozawa let that orchestra slack during his directorship and they had a first trumpet player at the time who refused to retire and was past his prime. They're still a wonderful orchestra, but I remember hearing things that I never heard in Cleveland (intonation issues, lack of ensemble cohesiveness). James Levine (who used to study with Szell) brought their level back up when he took over IMO, just shame about his career ending the way it did. I have yet to hear the Berlin Phil live, and I'm an admirer of the LSO as well. I've heard they used to say about Welser-Moest that he was frankly, worse than most, haha.

[@antoineduchamp4931]

@@brentmarquez4157 Thank you Brent: very interesting in what you say about Seiji Ozawa... I always had a lot of time for James Levine... wow he could whip an orchestra into a frenzy, it was great. The Berlin orchestra is astounding. They have a very soft and beautiful violin tone. But they are famous for this...when they 'step on the gas' as you say, great heavens they can remove a concert hall ceiling. The LSO? they are great, oh yes. But there is one thing they are famous for.... if rehearsals go badly (they are a difficult bunch of musicians) they can deliberately play badly to annoy the conductor on the night of the performance. I have seen them do it many times.

[@brentmarquez4157]

@@antoineduchamp4931 didn't know that about the LSO. On the one hand that's unprofessional, on the other maybe it keeps some conductors in line. Cleveland musicians are probably too dutiful to ever pull something like that for better or worse. The classical music industry is as spicy, fun and interesting as any other at the end of the day.

[@antoineduchamp4931]

@@brentmarquez4157Brent, I have a friend who played viola in the London symphony orchestra. He told me that rehearsals with the late Lorin Maazel were going badly. That night I went to St. Paul's cathedral in central London for the Brahms Requiem under him. He was frowning a lot at the orchestra... I was in the 1st or 2nd row at the front. He did not look happy.... I wondered if the LSO were up to their old tricks of playing badly to get their own back. At one moment he used his left hand to indicate 'reduce volume' to the 1st violins... (a flat hand signal) Instead they produced a whopping fortissimo. Do you know? He shouted at your orchestra, loudly, "you bastards" I will never forget that. The LSO can behave badly when they want to. He vowed never to return, and he did not. Now you can see the Brits are not always so polite!

[@asdrubalperez1507]

congratulations for your video reviews excellent.

[@barrysaines254]

You convinced me Dave!

[@ulfwernernielsen6708]

Very interesting what you said about Gilels two Beethoven concerto cycles. I never liked any of his Beethoven 3. While I love both no .4. . In the first two concertos I prefer the Szell . In the second movement of second concerto Gilels played the first theme much faster than Vandernoot had conducted it just before, while he is following Szell’s tempo perfectly. In. the first concerto the polyphonic elements in the first movement are very clear in the Szell version while the left hand is ignored in the Vandernoot version. Also in the Concerto 5 I all in all prefer the Szell version to the Ludwig version but the Ludwig version is of course very good also. I the Brahms violin concerto I think We can hear that Oistrach was an older man , a little stiff and a slow vibrato . My favorite Oistrach recording of the Brahms concerto is the DGG with Franz Konwitzny . It was just my opinions. Thank you for this very interesting videos.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and for the splendidly detailed and accurate descriptions of the performances.

[@frankgyure3154]

I just relistened to Gilels/Szell since this video came out yesterday. After an initial listening,I am saying to myself. “what is here to dislike?” I also appreciate your comparative comments. My next goal is to compare the Fleischer and Gilels recordings. My initial reaction was that Gilels wanted more “Romantic “ slow movements

[@frankgyure3154]

Szell is my favorite conductor and usually I would buy this box in a heart. But I already have all the modern recordings,the Huberman Beethoven Violin Concero,the Dvorak Cello Concerto an 9th New World symphony(dated sound but the symphony is a great performance. I collected all the above throughput the years so I would be duplicating almost all that I have except for the Lieder CD/Schwarzkopf. BUT I have to find a way to hear that audio CD. For the longest of time it’s been said that the Fleischer cycle was better than the Gilels. I think I read somewhere that Gilels and Szell did not see eye to eye while Szell and Fleisher really had a special relationship. Many recording and Fleisher was the Brahms Piano Concerto Soloist in the inaugural concert when Szell took over. Since this video posted yesterday I listened to the Gilels and its like what is too dislike nothing. It seems that Gilels wants a more romantic approach in the slow movements than Szell “might” have liked. But this reputation that The set to have for the Beethoven piano concertos was the Fleischer over the Gilel has been around soooo long that it just seems to have been accepted. And I like all the other modern EMI/Warner recordings BUT I got to find a way to hear that audio cd.

[@toddschurk8143]

That old story that Gilels and Szell didn't see eye to eye is bunk. They performed Beethoven 3 in Cleveland in '66, recorded all 5 in '68, and repeated 3 in Salzburg in August '69 (Szell's last concert in Europe), for not getting along well, they sure seemed to perform together quite a bit!

[@frankgyure3154]

Thank you for that info. DH’s place is where we are finding out all these little tidbits. AND I LOVE IT

[@providence51]

The disc is available for download if you have iTunes

[@jac9229]

Szell was, in my opinion, an extraordinary artist who set and attained the highest standards. One extraordinary dimension to his achievements that is rarely mentioned is he built one of the world’s greatest orchestras in a city - Cleveland - that was - to many - an unappealing city to live in - which would presumably make it more difficult to recruit top talent. Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and New York were perceived as extremely desirable places to live, work and try to “make it.” Philadelphia too had its adherents. Cleveland, on the other hand was the focus of much negativity about quality of life - I believe I recall that in 1969 the river in Cleveland ignited in fire - and that was not the first time it had done so.

[@markfarrington5183]

...Yeah, all those Cleveland jokes about "the mistake on the Lake"..."First prize is a weekend on Cleveland; second prize is TWO weekends in Cleveland," yada yada yada. For the record, I happen to LOVE Cleveland.

[@frankgyure3154]

Cleveland was not such a bad place during Szell’s tenure. In terms of population it was in the top 15(or so) in the US. But The City of Cleveland really took a big hit from 1970 onwards. It does seem to be recovering as a “smallish” city. Paradoxically,Dohnanyi actually said there were advantages for the orchestra in Cleveland in the sense that the people of Cleveland knew that the orchestra made Cleveland famous throughout much of the world and that the orchestra played a larger role in the cultural life in Cleveland compared to the New York Philharmonic in the cultural life of NYC. I believe there is a video where Dohnanyi explains it better than my rememberance.

[@brentmarquez4157]

One thing Cleveland had back then was wealth - before the steel industry collapsed, so in other words, there were resources for funding a world class orchestra. Though at the same time from what I've read, the musicians were not paid nearly as well as they are today. I wonder if Szell saw the potential there because there was some wealth for supporting the operation and also because maybe he thought he would have more leverage and absolute control to complete his mission (big fish in a small pond type of situation). Regardless, your point has some validity and I wonder if that's why Cleveland couldn't get a better conductor than FWM currently.

[@marccikes3429]

Unfortunalely, Szell's Decca recordings haven't been available for a long time.

[@jfddoc]

I'm very happy that Warner released this, even if I don't think EMI ever really got the hang of recording the Cleveland Orchestra. Columbia was in the process of dropping the CO from their recording roster as they already had New York and Philadelphia. Cleveland was considered the "third string" and relegated to the Epic subsidiary label. That label ceased producing new recordings a few years earlier so maybe the writing was on the wall? So the opportunity was ripe for EMI to step in. There is a live Milstein/Szell Beethoven violin concerto that Claves has released from the Montreaux Festival that is excellent but marred by some woodwind intonation problems.

[@michelangelomulieri5134]

Yeeesss...we got it!!

[@matts9064]

“Fish disc” lol. Great review! Thanks for bringing it to my wallet’s attention:)

[@petejilka968]

A friend of mine from our student days at CIM in the '80's now says that we were fortunate to hear the Cleveland Orchestra when orchestra members were mostly hired by George Szell.

[@frankgyure3154]

This has been said for so many years but IT HAS BEEN FIFTY YEARS and just maybe this should be retired. Just in the last couple of Months,the New York Times was reviewing some new recipe just released on the Cleveland Orchestra’s own label(just started) and flat out called The Cleveland the best American Orchestra. When Dohnanyi was musical director,the NYT said Cleveland was the best in US. So,IMHO,we need to move on from “Cleveland was best under Szell and no match whatsoever after Szell” statement that keels on being repeated.

[@frankgyure3154]

Recording. NOT RECIPE

[@markfarrington5183]

True enough. I heard the Cleveland Orchestra under CvD, on September 30, 1989. They played TOD UND VERKLARUNG and the Brahms VIOLIN CONCERTO. Never have I heard such an ensemble, live. It was also my first date with the woman I wanted to marry (which didn't happen, alas). A memorable evening !

[@brentmarquez4157]

@@frankgyure3154 I've been disappointed with FWM personally and find his conducting boring or puzzling. On occasion he produces an interesting performance, but it's mostly the musicians making the magic I think. I have noticed that sometimes the clarity of ensemble, particularly in loud passages is not what it used to be - it just sounds loud now, but overall they're still a world class orchestra.

[@HassoBenSoba]

@@markfarrington5183 Well, at least you ended up with great memories of CvD and Cleveland.

[@thomasherreng3903]

Don't you think Reiner made the same impression in Chicago ? It's true not only in terms of musical standards but also because they were both terrifying people. I think most people still consider the Chicago Symphony orchestra as Reiner's band.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Not to the same extent. It was not "Reiner's bad" under Martinon or Solti, although there's no question he set an amazing standard. With Reiner's successors it was very much "not as good as Reiner," whereas with Szell it was "they still have that Szell sound."

[@olegroslak852]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Didn't Dohnanyi lament: "We gave another great concert, and George Szell got great review," or something to that effect? I've wondered if that was true story, or just apocryphal.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@olegroslak852 As far as I know it's true.

[@winrx]

Hardly - the sound of the orchestra had already changed when Solti took over in the early 70s. The orchestra sounded less refined with loud glaring brass and strident violins......

[@frankgyure3154]

It’s true

[@olegroslak852]

Szell has to be my all time favourite among conductors, and I'm eagerly awaiting my parcel delivery from Amazon of this one. Also currently reading the recent Charry biography of Szell, which is fascinating (he was, indeed, quite a character). Just a thought, Dave, but maybe you could do a talk on "underrated" and "overrated" conductors (a "top 10," or something). Szell was not "overrated," of course (he is generally "accurately rated" as one of the true greats). However, I can think of obvious contenders in both categories. Let's say Mackerras, Silvestri, or even Jochum (just because he is even better than his reputation) for the underrated. Among overrated? Well, take your pick. I can see Furtwangler topping your list, but I can probably rattle off a top 100 without even having to look any up. Any chance?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Probably not anytime soon. I would so much rather talk about music.

[@frankgyure3154]

Have you read the book written by Donald Rosenberg(umm..the former music critic of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. That’s a story unto itself). I think it’s a great book to begin to learn about The Cleveland Orchestra from its beginnings onwards.

[@brentmarquez4157]

The complete collection of Szell related literature as I know it is: Tales From the Locker Room by Larry Angel The Cleveland Orchestra Story by Rosenberg George Szell: A Life in Music by Charry and more recently: George Szell's Reign by Marcia Kraus I've read the first three and am currently reading the last by Kraus which was published relatively recently. All of them are absolutely worth the read and a must for any Szell/Cleveland fan.

[@jeffreymilarsky3246]

YES!!!!

[@dmntuba]

Just in time for Christmas 😁

[@davidrowe3356]

I don't know how you feel about comments like the following David, but delete or direct as you like. But I learned Des Knaben Wunderhorn from this recording with DF-D and Schwartzkopf. Now, if some of your viewers are like me, and we have no overflow room, when you get a box like this, you may want to get rid of the old EMI disc to save space. Well, to hear it again here, it sounded bland and lacking energy. Could I have been so wrong before? Of course, I could. But I put my old EMI mastering back in the player, and BANG. What's missing is the BASS from EMI mastering. It's gone here. A-B them (and yes, compensate for relative volumes in the mastering) and the EMI has Szellian bass, and the French Warner... nearly absent. All to say, if you like the cutesy singing of Fish-Disk and Schwarzkopf that I'm used to... KEEP YOUR EMI MASTERING for all that Szell contributes. It makes all the difference. By the way, the mastering of the Dvorak 8 is better in this box, than on my old EMI Double-Forte.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks for sharing your experience, although in general I don't think discussion of sonics is terribly helpful because of variations in listening equipment and rooms, never mind personal taste. It's even more subjective and impressionistic than discussions of interpretation! Still, you state your opinion clearly and some might find it helpful.

[@JanPBtest]

"Sz" in Hungarian is pronounced "S". I don't know where the English pronunciation of "Zell" came from. Maybe Szell himself didn't like "Sell" in English?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Everyone knows and no one cares. Spare us the lessons in pronunciation.

[@olegroslak852]

Not to load up on the comments to this video, but Szell did a tonne (or a ton) of great stuff that has been issued on the Orfeo label (probably more than is in this box if they put it all together). Some of my favourite Szell is among them, including a couple of absolutely amazing complete Mozart operas - Magic Flue and The Abduction.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, we know! I particularly enjoy the "Flue."

[@frankgyure3154]

Sony released some Szell Live recordings from the Salzburg Festival. I think were only available in a blink of an eye. I thought I had one or two more but I did find the CD of a radio broadcast from 1968 with the Vienna Phil doing the Bruckner 7th. Considering it was 1968,the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. There is one comment somewhere about this recording. Szell was the ONLY conductor who made the Vienna Phil sound completely unlike “THE Vienna Phil.”

[@olegroslak852]

@@frankgyure3154 That 1968 VPO Bruckner 7 is also in a 7-cd box set from Orfeo of Szell's Salzburg concerts. Oddly, that box does NOT include what is perhaps his all time greatest cd, IMHO, his all Beethoven concert with the third piano concerto (Gilels) and Symphony No. 5 (the all-time greatest Beethoven 5, hands down). The box says it covers the years 1958-1968, and that concert was in 1969. Why did they stop at 1968? Who the hell knows.

[@frankgyure3154]

I’ve got that CD. I tried to show a pic of the CD but I Am a tech Neanderthal

[@brentmarquez4157]

@@frankgyure3154 I have that set and was only able to find it when I was in Japan at a CD store there - they had an entire Szell section in the CD bin - I was in heaven and never saw anything like it in the U.S. You can probably find everything online now though.

[@Bezart34]

Sounds like a great set - apart from Schwarzkopf. I have a total antipathy to her "voice!"

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Many do.

[@ulfwernernielsen6708]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I do not. I adore her. The Schubert Lied recital with Schwarzkopf /Fischer is one of my favorite recordings.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@ulfwernernielsen6708 Many do.