George Szell - The Complete Columbia Album Collection

In the past decade, the corporate heavens have rained down upon us a spate of Great Conductor boxed sets. To mention only a few, behold DG's Karajan & Bohm boxes; RCA-SONY's Munch and Reiner boxes; RCA-SONY and Universal’s multitudinous Monteux boxes; SONY-Columbia's Bernstein and Ormandy boxes. They all might be similar in format to this Szell treasure chest, but in terms of sheer interpretative quality ratio – to say nothing of execution - perhaps only Reiner's RCA could approach it. George Szell’s music making was often accused of being overly controlling, even if that alleged “excess” was responsible for putting the Cleveland Orchestra on the world map, and in spite of how all its components almost always added up to something “greater than the sum of its parts.” The fact is, mere technical musicianship and perfectionism could never have achieved what Szell and his “band” achieved, from his first guest appearance in Cleveland on November 2, 1944, till their final performance together in Anchorage, Alaska on May 29, 1970 (almost exactly two months before Szell’s death). And in terms of this review, there are simply too many treasures here to highlight all of them. (My apologies to those whose favorites were left out.) Szell’s Haydn Symphonies include Nos. 88, 92-99 and 104, with two versions each of 92 and 97 (the second versions of each being clearly preferable). They are all models of wit, grace and (for lack of a better word) Civilization. Perhaps the 88th is outdone by Reiner’s Chicago, but only by a hair’s breadth. The “Surprise” punch in the second movement of 94 is one of the few performances to live up to this symphony’s nickname, and No.93’s second movement bassoon “belch” (in lieu of a less polite word, ahem) has never been more graphically conveyed OR set up with such deceptively sedate decorum. As to Mozart’s Piano Concertos, we have No. 10 with Robert and Gaby Casadesus; Nos. 15, 17-18, 20-24 and 26-27 with Robert Casadesus; 17, 19-20 and 25 with Rudolf Serkin; and 25 with Leon Fleisher. (The Serkin 17, 19 and 20; the Casadesus 21; and the Fleisher 25 are long-time personal favorites, about which I will not even try to be “objective.”) Sadly, Szell and Cleveland never commercially recorded the Mozart 25th or 29th Symphonies (what he and his “band” could have made of them!), nor the “Linz” or the “Prague.” (However, live Szell performances exist of the 29th with the Berlin Philharmonic, and the “Prague” with the Cleveland Orchestra. He also recorded a nonpareil 34th with the Concertgebouworkest.) His 28th radiates even better humor and higher spirits than Bruno Walter’s, as well as far more refined phrasing. The 33rd is perhaps the finest ever recorded, outclassing Eduard van Beinum’s 1951 Concertgebouw performance by a hair’s breadth. The “Haffner” is as close to “definitive” as any Mozart Symphony performance can be; the humor, the intricacy, and the warmth are unsurpassed. The stereo 39th, 40th and “Jupiter” are possibly the greatest of all time - think of gazing into polished, almost infinitely faceted jewels of depth and color. (Those who cite the “Jupiter” finale as one of the greatest of all recorded symphonic movements have not exaggerated.) The mono versions of 39-41 are indeed more “gemutlich” (a term Szell despised!), but the stereo performances run deeper in feeling AND with more finished execution. EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK is almost an antipode to Bruno Walter’s three recordings, but still top-drawer (“Gemutlich he ain’t,” Helene Szell famously said of her husband). And these might be the most exquisite SCHAUSPIELDIREKTOR and FIGARO Overtures ever recorded. The Divertimento # 2 (with the CORRECT first minuet, as opposed to Beecham’s interpolation of another!) is without peer, as is the Clarinet Concerto with Robert Marcellus as soloist and the K. 364 Sinfonia Concertante with concertmaster Rafael Drurian and violist Abraham Kernick...To say nothing of Violin Concertos 1, 3 and 5 with Isaac Stern, and the four Violin Sonatas with Drurian (Szell at the piano!) – pure musical gold. However, the crowning glory among Szell’s orchestral Mozart might be the ‘Posthorn’ Serenade. I confess I had never heard this performance until running across a promo video in which Andria Hoy, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Archivist, cited this recording as her favorite among the 106 discs in this set. Suffice it to say, she is right! It even sails past my two other favorite ‘Posthorns’: Eduard van Beinum’s and Karl Bohm’s. Szell inhabits a perfect, golden mean between EvB’s graceful understatement and Bohm’s somewhat romanticized, almost “perfumed” approach (enhanced by the resonant “Pipes of Pan” tone of James Galway, who at that time held the Berlin Philharmonic’s solo flute chair). Szell’s performance is one of celestial grace - you need to hear it for yourself – and so is the EXSULTATE JUBILATE with Judith Raskin. Szell/Cleveland and Leon Fleisher’s Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle remains the “reference” set for these works, and they are all indeed stunning performances. The Beethoven Overtures and Symphonies sit among the same “place of honor” as the best of Klemperer’s; even the KING STEPHEN Overture has a backbone seldom expected of this piece. So very high are the standards achieved, here, that it is hard to single out any of the Overtures and Symphonies for “special mention.” Perhaps only the 8th Symphony lacks the incisive wit, thrust and inspiration of the other performances…In August 1968, upon hearing a broadcast of this record, Maria Callas famously castigated it - and she wasn’t entirely wrong. (See John Ardoin’s THE FURTWANGLER RECORD, p. 12) Still, all is redeemed in the end because Szell DID leave us with perhaps the greatest Beethoven 8th ever, i.e., his live November 1968 New Philharmonia performance (available from the BBC label). In the Finale’s endless runs up and down the F major triad – one empty farewell gesture after another after ANOTHER – Beethoven pokes fun at composers who don’t know when to END IT, ALREADY. In the later performance Szell “gets” the acid wit of this Finale, and indeed the whole Symphony, better than even Toscanini or Reiner. It’s as if he had caught wind of Callas’ remarks (did he, somehow?), and “I’ll show her!” So, a true “Szellot” must supplement these Cleveland Beethoven Symphonies with the New Philharmonia 8th. The Schubert UNFINISHED is here in two versions: 1955 mono and 1960 stereo. The 1960 is better played, better recorded, and more deeply felt: truly one of the great ones. The 1957 GREAT is nearly peerless, with just the right touch of menace. (News flash: the GREAT is not a “happy” work. It’s more like “condemned man eats a hearty breakfast.”) The 1967 ROSAMUNDE excerpts are superb, but perhaps outdone and “out-felt” by Szell’s 1957 Philips Concertgebouw recording – which includes his only version of the exquisite Entr’acte No. 1. If Szell “tinkered” with the sometimes-muddy orchestration of Schumann’s Symphonies and MANFRED Overture, he did so in a way absolutely aligned to the grain of the music. What emerges, both emotionally and in terms of orchestral texture, is something as fresh as the first day of Spring. The mono 2nd and 4th are both rather hard-driven, but still poetic. The stereo versions are more lyrical, but the ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ of the 2nd’s second movement is even more thrillingly executed in the earlier mono. (This parallels the uniquely stunning Finale of Bruno Walter’s NY mono Brahms 2nd - even if, overall, his stereo cycle might be preferable.) Over the decades, Szell’s Brahms Symphonies (with two stereo versions of the First) have divided critical opinion. Some find them too “stiff” or “classical” in bent; others admire them for that very “classicism.” In a Classical Net review, Steve Schwartz wrote, “If Bernstein gives you Brahms the Romantic, Szell gives you Brahms the Classicist.” Along these Brahmsian lines, other reviewers have antipodally pitted George Szell and Bruno Walter against each other - which makes more sense as to their Mozart - but I do not. True, Walter’s performances radiate more OVERT poetry and emotion, and Szell’s more refined playing. And yet the façade of "Szell the Brahms classicist" tends to crumble upon close inspection. His Brahms resonates with deep conviction and a sense of “security” (in terms of having been deeply pondered and thought out), but never is there any impression that “it’s all about execution.” No, it’s all about MUSIC. Comparing Szell to Bruno Walter’s stereo Brahms cycle, BOTH maestros alternate between an honest “classical restraint” or understatement, on the one hand, and flexible rubato on the other. It’s just that they do it at different places in the music. In fact, Szell takes far more tempo “liberties” than that other “Brahms classicist,” Eduard van Beinum! No matter: if it’s an exaggeration to tag Szell and Walter as Brahmsian “antipodes,” each is complementarily different enough, and at a high enough level, to be ESSENTIAL to any Brahms collection. That said, to my ears the 1957 First is a more inspired, more flowing performance than the 1966, which is more incisive and, yes, a bit "stiff." (Why the remake? Since Symphonies 2, 3 and 4 were taped between 1964 and 1967 – i.e., after the 1958 “Szell Shell” was installed in Severance Hall to mitigate its acoustical dryness - it could be that, contemplating a boxed set of the Symphonies, Szell and Columbia wanted matching sound in all 4 of them. In any case, the 1957 First was recorded in Cleveland’s more resonant Masonic Auditorium.) The 1964 ‘HAYDN’ VARIATIONS and 1966 ACADEMIC FESTIVAL Overture are also second stereo versions by Szell/Cleveland. (The 1955 ‘HAYDN’ and ACADEMIC are featured in the Somm set of Szell/Cleveland’s Book-Of-The-Month-Club sessions, THE FORGOTTEN RECORDINGS – and they were the first stereo tapings by Szell in Cleveland.) But in terms of energy, wit, and tonal beauty, the later versions clearly surpass the earlier. In fact, the later ACADEMIC is at least as affectionate and rambunctious as Bruno Walter’s (!). The 1966 TRAGIC Overture is a great and unexpectedly lyrical one, but to this writer’s ears, Walter’s stereo version packs a greater punch. However, there is little controversy as to Szell’s Brahms Concertos. The Piano Concertos with Leon Fleisher are fiery, passionate, and hardly need my recommendation. (In their First Concerto, one keeps asking, “Classicism? WHAT Classicism?”) There is a second set of the Piano Concertos, in stereo, with Rudolf Serkin, as well as a 1952 mono First with Serkin. Many have preferred Serkin’s stereo First with Szell to Fleisher’s, but I do not. Yes, Serkin takes a more “magisterial” and reflective approach (which works better in the Second Concerto than in the First), but Fleisher, Szell, and the Cleveland Orchestra have greater “chemistry” together. And at the risk of a well-aimed bolt of lightning, I happen to find Serkin more interesting and energetic in his Brahms Piano Concertos with Ormandy/Philadelphia, as they bring out more of the ebullient, Lisztian “concerto” aspect of these works, as opposed to their sober, Beethovenian “symphonic” aspect. (Szell and Fleisher managed to bring out BOTH – equally well!) Meanwhile, Szell and Cleveland recorded the Violin and ‘Double’ Concertos for EMI with Oistrakh and Rostropovich (hence their absence here but their presence in the smaller Szell EMI/Warner box). The Smetana and Dvorak selections (also available in a recent smaller box SZELL CONDUCTS DVORAK AND SMETANA, based on these same new transfers) are essential to any collection. From Smetana, there are two versions of “Vltava (Moldau)” (NY Phil 1951 and 1963 Cleveland), and the latter is by far the best (David Hurwitz calls it the best EVER); we also get Szell’s only recording of “From Bohemia’s Fields and Groves" (also NY Phil 1951). The ‘From My Life’ Quartet, orchestrated by Szell, is his only recording of it (1949), and perhaps his first great Cleveland recording in general. The BARTERED BRIDE Overture (in stereo for the first time!) is famous for its impossible combination of breakneck speed, precision and high spirits, and the three BARTERED BRIDE Dances are superbly atmospheric. From Dvorak there are Symphonies 7-9, with two 9ths: 1952 and 1959. The latter 9th is the best, but the 1952 second movement has unique moments of tenderness. There are five SLAVONIC DANCES from 1947 (Szell’s first recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra) which sound amazingly well for their vintage; also two complete sets of the SLAVONIC DANCES (1956 mono and 1962-65 stereo). I agree, with Hurwitz and others, that the mono 1956 set is fresher in feeling and with clearer “lines.” A possible reason for the 1956 set being a more satisfying musical experience, is that each set of the DANCES (op. 46 & op. 72) was recorded over a two-day span (the stereos were all recorded over a three-year span), so that all these DANCES hang together better in relation to each other. We also get the near-definitive Dvorak Piano Concerto with Rudolf Firkusny (1954 mono). Finally, there is a sizzling CARNIVAL Overture which, like the Beethoven 8th, humorously ends with a chain of false “farewell” gestures, executed by Szell as rambunctiously as he does the Finale of his 1968 Beethoven 8th. Among Szell’s 1951-55 NY Philharmonic recordings here, perhaps the highlights are: 1) the almost ‘gemutlich’ Beethoven PASTORAL 2) the live Tchaikovsky First with Vladimir Horowitz – a blistering, take-no-prisoners performance (by comparison, the later one with Gary Graffman is a genteel Victorian picnic) 3) the Wagner RIENZI Overture, which has a tad more “zip” than the stereo Cleveland remake. Szell’s stereo Wagner Overtures and Preludes (1962-65) and 1968 RING excerpts compete with Dorati’s, Reiner’s and Munch’s as being among the most desirable from the “Golden Age of Hi-Fi.” But in terms of primeval feeling, the 1956 mono RING tracks are even greater. Unlike the 1968, they lack the “Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla” but append an instrumental “Wotan’s Farewell” to the beginning of the “Magic Fire Music.” And although Columbia recorded no Szell PARSIFAL excerpts, there is a magnificent 1957 live Act I Prelude/Good Friday Spell, in good mono sound (currently available from West Hill Radio Archives). (We need a joint SONY/WCLV radio box of works which Szell/Cleveland never recorded commercially. It might include: the PARSIFAL excerpts; the Verdi REQUIEM and Beethoven MISSA SOLEMNIS; the Sibelius 4th and 7th; Mahler’s DAS LIED VON DER ERDE and 9th; Strauss’s METAMORPHOSEN and BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME Suite; and Mozart’s ‘Prague’ Symphony.) From Richard Strauss, we have unbeatable stereo versions of DON JUAN, TOD UND VERKLARUNG, TILL EULENSPIEGEL, the HORN CONCERTO NO. 1 (with Myron Bloom as soloist); one of the greatest versions of DON QUIOXTE (with Pierre Fournier on cello) and possibly the best-ever SYMPHONIA DOMESTICA, in which Szell somehow reconciles the contradictory Mendelssohnian chamber music and the celebratory Wagnerian aspects of this odd but endearing work. (Szell disapproved of the “Nietzschean” character of ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA, EIN HELDENLEBEN and EINE ALPENSINFONIE, hence he never recorded them.) I must agree with David Hurwitz that in the Janecek SINFONIETTA and Mahler Symphonies (4th, 6th , and two movements from the 10th), Szell refines the necessary “grit” and manic qualities right out of the music. The Bartok and Prokofiev works fare better (even if Dorati is preferable in the Prokofiev 5th Symphony), but Szell’s LT. KIJE and Kodaly HARY JANOS Suites brim over with pungent character. The Hindemith, Walton and Barber pieces are also first-rate – indeed, the Barber Piano Concerto, with John Browning, is a revelation. The FIREBIRD and DAPHNIS ET CHLOE Suites are stunningly played and felt. Szell’s LA MER is superior to Reiner’s unidiomatic ‘DAS MEER,’ yet both must yield place to their contemporary – Eduard van Beinum’s peerless Concertgebouw performance. Still, what remains dazzling about this 106-disc set is how very few "misfires" exist in such a huge body of work. As to transfers and sound quality, there are no “duds” or significant letdowns in this box. Nearly every selection is a noticeable improvement – none are “worse”! - over the earlier Essential Classics, Legendary Interpretations, Masterworks and Great Performances incarnations of these recordings, especially the Essential Classics…which shackled so many of these performances in a dry, shallow 16-bit sound which almost got in the way of the interpretations. That is to say, we could hear the disciplined ensemble but not the truth-telling BEAUTY which was its object; now we can hear both. So – unless you have been a devotee of Japanese SACDs - with this box, in terms of sonic QUALITY you are likely to hear many of these performances “for the very first time.” (And frankly, for all the justifiable nostalgia about vintage Living Stereo, Living Presence and Columbia “Six-Eye” LPs, the original Epic pressings of most of these recordings were nothing to write home about. The light-grey-label “Two-Eyes” and some of the later “Odysseys” were marginally better, but the 1970s “Columbia-Columbia One-Eyes” were not, and among vinyl collectors there is little nostalgia for them.) Particularly striking is the warmth and clarity of the Smetana ‘From My Life’ (a vast improvement over the strident, “chalky” sound in the 1998 Masterworks transfer); the rich, “rosin-y” sheen, mellow brass and improved lower midrange of the stereo Haydn “Oxford” and Mozart “Haffner” Symphonies, the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante and Clarinet Concerto, ALL of the stereo Beethoven Symphonies and Schubert UNFINISHED, the Brahms 4th, the stereo RING excerpts, and the three Christmas carol arrangements – in the same enchanting league as those of Peter Knight - heard here in pristine sound for the very first time. (Their "premiere" releases were on two Columbia Special Products LPs: an in-house Christmas anthology and a Goodyear Christmas album. Nor were THOSE pressings anything to write home about!) There are only two relative disappointments: (1) The 1968 Brahms First Piano Concerto with Serkin IS an improvement over the dullish Essential Classics transfer, but only marginally so. Still, with the Fleisher performance of the First in such freshly minted sound, this is a mere quibble. (2) The beginning of the very first chord, in the 1957 Brahms First Symphony, sounds slightly truncated. For that reason alone, if you have Lani Spahr’s superlative United Archives transfer, hang onto it! (I believe it was done, not from vinyl via “needle drop,” but from a stereo reel-to-reel tape.) Finally, the retro-mini-LP format (front and back covers as well as disc labels) is unabashedly nostalgic. Many of the back covers feature the magnificent liner notes of Klaus George Roy, even if we don’t get all of them and they are in very small print. Roy was program annotator for the Cleveland Orchestra and, in his day, he penned approximately 200 sets of LP liner notes. . If the Cleveland Orchestra could publish the cream of his program notes in book form, what a volume that would make – culture at its finest! Meanwhile, the accompanying “coffee table” book includes beautiful color reproductions of all the original LP front covers, plus complete recording dates and venues. My first point bears repeating: in terms of sheer quality of content AND presentation, there is no boxed set like unto this. There is no greater bargain (after tax and postage, I paid slightly over $1.89 per disc), and there might never be again! This is THE musical pot of gold at the rainbow’s end…Some dreams actually come true, and Szell’s dream of building an orchestra to the global level of “second to none”- technically AND culturally - is one of them.

Although I have some general comments about the sound at the end of my review, I’ll leave it to very astute reviewers like John Fowler and R. D. Monsoon to review which items were newly remastered and which derive from Essential Classics, Masterworks Heritage, previous Original Jacket collections and the like. One of the greatest misconceptions about George Szell is that, while he was able to drill orchestras into incomparable playing, his interpretations were metronomic and lacked imagination. What a load of tosh. The recordings in this collection demonstrate plenty of creativity – and even some questionable textual changes, as in the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. The Cleveland Orchestra Szell inherited in 1946 bore little resemblance to the very fine ensemble Sokoloff and Rodzinski presided over. The loss of many players to the war effort, and a relatively inexperienced and part-time Erich Leinsdorf had led to a undeniable depletion. Szell deserves credit for removing about a dozen players who did not meet the highest standards, increasing the complement of players to the standard 104, instilling a more European aesthetic in terms of balance and homogeneity of sonority while maintaining the American hallmark of precision - although to state it was “One Man’s Triumph” is an exaggeration. It's not for nothing that Leonard Bernstein once stopped a rehearsal with the orchestra to exclaim “You guys are so [expletive deleted] good!” Szell’s imprint is undeniable and enduring – to this day, the work ethic and chamber music clarity of the playing remain. Even Severance Hall, which was spectacularly remodeled in 2000, retains the sonic aesthetic that Szell strove for when he replaced the stage shell in 1958. His musical aesthetic can be summed up in a few quotes from Szell himself: “The composers want us to be imaginative, in the direction of their thinking – not just robots who execute orders.” "There is a difference between the chaste sensuality of Mozart or Haydn and the lascivious sensuality of Richard Strauss. One cannot pour chocolate sauce over asparagus." It must have taken some arm twisting on Szell's part to get Mozart’s Symphonies K. 200 and K. 319 recorded, as neither were repertoire staples in the 1960s (they still appear relatively rarely). Kudos to both Szell and Columbia for undertaking the project. As with nearly everything else they recorded, the Szell/Cleveland combination in Mozart brings forth performances of common sensibility and uncommon balance. The tempos and phrasing for each work and movement seem inevitable, and the performances are stripped of all phony Gemütlichkeit. The various choirs of the orchestra are balanced with chamber-like precision, so that each voice is heard in proper perspective. This is even evident in the monaural recordings of three of the Symphonies, which are a tad more flexible than their stereo counterparts. Szell was also an excellent collaborator in Concertos, as the Mozart Clarinet Concerto K. 622 with Robert Marcellus, the Piano Concerto K. 503 with Leon Fleischer, and R. Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 with Myron Bloom demonstrate. Szell starts the first movement of K. 503 in crisply articulated style, with a brisk tempo, and Fleisher carries the piano part with subtle pedaling and astutely-judged dynamics. The songful andante features glowing woodwinds, while the finale is graceful whirl and dash. In keeping with the custom of his generation, Fleisher does not embellish the rather bare bones piano part in the slow movement. Bloom's rendition of the solo part in the Strauss Horn Concerto is nothing short of astonishing, his legendary liquid tone beautifully captured. Unlike, say, Toscanini, Szell did not feel the need to steamroll a soloist into complying with his own conception of a piece. The same is true with Casadesus who also clearly saw Mozart as part of the Classical tradition, not as a proto-Romantic. The performances here are emotionally reserved (an earlier generation would have called them "aristocratic"); the sustaining pedal is used sparingly; outer movements are brisk and slow movements are never dragged - nor are they embellished. At the same time, this is not the rococo, porcelain-doll approach to Mozart that was popular among 19th Century players. Incidentally, Casadesus plays his own cadenzas in K. 365, K. 467, and K. 482, and utilizes the Saint-Saens cadenza in K. 491. Szell's accompaniments fit hand-in-glove, never crossing the line between the "chaste warmth" that Szell favored in 18th Century music and the more Romantic approach favored by some of his contemporaries. Rudolf Serkin, a co-pupil of Szell, also contributes some Mozart here – Nos. 17, 19, 20 & 25 – but I’ve never found Serkin’s Mozart particularly congenial. His collaborations in Brahms’ two piano concertos have been familiar with me for over 30 years, and they are on a higher level but here I prefer Szell’s collaboration with Fleisher (below). Szell's characterization of Haydn's symphonies belies the notion of him as a cold-hearted autocrat. Note the bassoon "raspberry" in the slow movement of Symphony No. 93, or his handling of the "surprise" in Symphony No. 94 (for once, it sounds startling). Szell may not indulge in aimless rubato or allow his strings to exude syrupy vibrato, but there are many subtleties to be heard for those willing to listen. Szell undoubtedly viewed the Haydn symphonies (at least the later ones) as anticipating Beethoven, and these performances have more thrust and drive than was usually heard at the time. Still, Szell remains within the Classical style: Menuets are played as such and not as Scherzos - in contrast with Toscanini. Needless to say, the playing of the Cleveland Orchestra is peerless, not merely from the standpoint of hitting the right notes at the right time and faultless intonation, but that the various choirs of the orchestra are impeccably balanced. Clearly, these players have moved far beyond merely listening to themselves to listening to each other. Originally issued on Columbia's budget label, Epic, George Szell's early stereo (1957-1967) cycle of Beethoven's Symphonies became legendary on its original release. Originally released one LP at a time, the cycle was later reissued as a boxed set, individually again in the late 1970s, debuting on CD in the 1980s, and in several incarnations during the 1990s. Ever the perfectionist, Szell drilled the Cleveland Orchestra to within an inch of its life, and the result here is orchestral playing of immaculate perfection and austere passion. In terms of sheer orchestral virtuosity, there is no better Beethoven cycle on records, not from Maazel's and Dohnanyi's later cycles with the same orchestra, not from Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic, and certainly not from Toscanini's NBC Orchestra. Toscanini bears mentioning here, because there are similarities of approach. Szell chooses not to let details obscure the overall structure of each symphony--though there are telling details in plenty. By the time this cycle was recorded, Szell had lived with these masterpieces for half a century, and it shows in the judicious tempi, straightforward phrasing, and architectonic grandeur. Although the recordings are hardly demonstration class by today’s standards, the clarity with which one hears instruments and, in the Ninth, chorus, is bracing: for once, the listener can clearly hear the Ode to Joy’s text. Fleisher and Szell initially recorded Beethoven's G major Concerto (coupled with Mozart's Concerto 25) and wound up recording the whole cycle after a casual suggestion by the recording producer, Howard Scott. Listeners owe Mr. Scott a round of applause, as this possibly the finest Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle by an American pianist, orchestra, and conductor (Szell took United States citizenship in 1946). The G major has just the right balance of lyricism, pathos (in the central movement) and sparkle. Fleisher's playing in the two early concertos serves as a reminder that Beethoven initially conquered Vienna as a virtuoso pianist, not a composer - the way he tears through the cadenza in the opening movement of Concerto 1 is beyond brilliant. Szell matches Fleisher bar-for-bar with tightly coiled conducting, except in the middle movements which are expansive without lapsing into sogginess. That's also largely true of the C minor concerto, which is played through a classicist's prism. The Emperor Concerto is largely devoid of the pomp usually heard; this monarch is lean and lithe, wearing his imperial garb lightly. Mutuality is everywhere evident in this cycle. The Brahms D minor Concerto is given a propulsive, dynamic performance that reminds the listener that the composer was a young man when this was written. Fleisher's playing is vibrant without being forced, while Szell manages to make the rather muddy orchestration sound lean and clear. The B-flat Concerto is exceptionally detailed, helped by Fleisher's sparing use of the sustaining pedal. Jules Eskin's cello solo in the slow movement is beyond beautiful, and integrally balanced with the accompaniment. By and large, these are my favorite stereo Brahms concertos, although I wouldn't want to be without Rubinstein/Reiner or Serkin/Ormandy in the D minor or Zimerman/Bernstein in the B-flat. One wouldn't normally associate the Fleisher/Szell partnership with Grieg and Schumann, but the popular coupling of A minor Concertos are presented with freshness, crisp attacks in the faster sections, and relaxed, unforced poetry in the slow movements. The 1953 live performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with Horowitz was a bootleg legend for decades before it was officially released – and rightfully so – even though it was said Szell didn’t particularly care for the piece, referring to it in scatological terms and advising the New York Philharmonic “let’s give Horowitz what he wants.” Noteworthy here is Horowitz’s rhapsodic phrasing in the opening movement, while the pianist sounds as if he's been shot from a cannon for the finale's octave torrent. I wish Szell and Horowitz had recorded more together. One can only imagine what they could have achieved when they were both with Columbia during the 1960s. A hint of that is provided in the Tchaikovsky Concerto with Graffman. Szell certainly lavishes loving care judging by the richly detailed accompaniment he and the Clevelanders provide, while Graffman's contribution nicely balances bravura with poetry. The Prokofiev Third Concerto with Graffman is architectonic, with the relentless rhythms of the Third's finale imprinting themselves on the listener, rather than impressing by mere speed. The First Concerto is a bit freer with whimsical moments. One of the hallmarks of Graffman's playing is its clarity, so that Prokofiev's more dense configurations emerge with scintillating detail instead of mushiness. Szell, who touched Prokofiev only rarely (his Prokofiev Fifth Symphony and Lieutenant Kije suite are other highlights of this set) provides a dedicated accompaniment which serves as an object lesson in the difference between drive and haste. Szell was also a fine pianist. (Szell's arrangement of Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel [featuring sound effects from his cuff-links] was legendary.) Both the Violin Sonatas and Piano Quartets show Szell as a sympathetic collaborator who was comfortable with ceding the spotlight to his partners. A note about the orchestras: All of the recordings with Szell made in Cleveland do indeed use the Cleveland Orchestra or "members of", including those that credit the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. For contractual reasons, sometimes the Clevelanders did not record under their own name. (I recall a contemporary music critic who lamented Szell's use of the Columbia Symphony, but marveling how Szell got them to sound like the Cleveland, evidently unaware of the ruse.) The Columbia Symphony recordings made in New York are likely populated with members of the New York Philharmonic. Now a few words about the sound quality and other items. Sony’s general rule of thumb about remastering in these Original Album sets is to use the best existing transfers of material if previously issued on CD, remastering only items which are new to CD. This seems to be the policy they have executed here. From what I can hear, it seems the mono recordings have been the most improved. But the sound on Szell’s recordings has often been problematic – and the problem may have rested with Szell himself. I’ve been told that he reviewed his upcoming recordings in his home, and his speakers were placed behind his furniture, muffling the treble. Szell apparently believed most music lovers preferred to conceal their unsightly audio equipment this way, which certainly is not the case, and had the high frequencies of his recordings boosted to compensate. Whatever the truth of that rumor, no doubt every CD I’ve heard so far sounds far more pleasing than its LP counterpart – of which I have quite a few. The original LP obverse and reverse covers are included (the Epic covers are mostly rather generic), and the CDs look like mini LPs – except with the case of multi-CDs, where only the front cover is shown while reverse and gatefold are simple black. There’s a mostly perceptive essay about Szell by Jürgen Kesting, which has a few mistakes that may the result of translation errors. First, the author of Second to None, the Cleveland Orchestra Story, is Donald Rosenberg, not Daniel Rosenberg. Second, Szell signed his contract with the orchestra in January 1946, not 1945. But these are quibbles. Word on the virtual street has it that this set is selling more briskly than expected. I’d advise those interested to snap these up as soon as they can, lest resellers get ahold of them for future profit.

George Szell und das Cleveland Orchestra - das war eine legendäre künstlerische Verbindung und der erste Weckruf (zumindest bei aufmerksamen und vorurteilsfreien Klassikliebhabern) hier im damals kulturell recht hochnäsigen Deutschland, was in den USA an Musikalität, Orchesterqualität und Seriösität möglich war und nach wie vor ist. Der eine gute Generation ältere Toscanini wurde hierzulande ebenfalls als Orchestererzieher wahrgenommen, allerdings hatte dieser klanglich anderes im Sinn und deshalb nicht den Fokus auf der Art Orchesterklangs wie Szell. Zudem waren seine (teilweise hervorragend klingenden) Aufnahmen allesamt in mono, was in den 60ziger jahren dann ert mal als unvolkommene überholte Technik galt. Fritz Reiner war in Europa in den 60ziger Jahren einfach noch nicht (und als Dirigent nicht mehr) im Bewusstsein - auch weil die LP-VÖs hierzulande zu zögerlich waren und klanglich-qualitativ nicht mit den US-VÖs mithalten konnten. So war Szells Cleveland Orchestra das erste, bei dem (meist unbewusst) die Bedeutung und die Zusammenhänge von Intonation, Farbe, Mischklängen und in allen Instrumentenregistern homogenen (weil im Obertonaufbau der Klangpyramide geordneten) Klängen für das musikalische Erleben ohrenfällig wahrgenommen wurde. Diesbezüglich hat Szell wohl mindestes genausoviel, ja mehr Aufbauarbeit in Cleveland leisten müssen als Reiner in Chicago, denn das CSO war Dank der unschätzbaren Jahrzehnte wirkenden Vorarbeit von Frederick Stock zu Kubeliks Zeiten (Vorgänger von Reiner beim CSO) schon ein ungeschliffener Diamant. Letztlch HAT das CSO dann auch deutlich die Nase vorn behalten - trotz aller "Perfektion" in Cleveland. Aber das ist hier nicht Thema . . . Szell und das Cleveland Orchestra haben in ihren stärksten Momenten absolute Maßstäbe gesetzt und musikalische Erfüllung erreicht - und uns eine große Anzahl an einmaligen Aufnahmen hinterlassen: z.B. in Werken von Haydn, Bruckner, Mahler, R.Strauss, Kodaly, Prokofieff, Walton . . . DIE EDITION Die stolzen 106 CDs der Szell Box erscheinen natürlich im originalen Artwork und die Rücken sind hervorragend(!) zu lesen. Da können sich alle(!) anderen Labels, die an LPs anmutende Papphüllen VÖs mit originalem Artwork in Boxen herausbringen, eine Scheibe abschneiden! Es gibt übrigens keine zusätzliche DVD, wie sie bei manchen großen Editionen begegeben wird. Einen anderen "Minuspunkt" kann ich bei dieser Box nicht finden - und letztlich das ist ja noch nicht einmal ein Minuspunkt ... Die Aufmachung ist exakt gleich wie bei der letzten großen einzelnen Bernstein Edition "YEARS 100 DISCS": Eine stabile Box, gute Konstruktion (auch wegen des Deckels), äußerst wertig und sehr geschmackvoll gestaltet, ein schönes großes Booklet mit einem kleinen, aber sehr angemessenen, einfühlsamen und auch vielschichtigem Essay von Jürgen Kesting, das sich nicht in den üblichen Klischees erschöpft. Einige großformatige Fotos. Alle CDs sind im Booklet ausführlich aufgeführt - neben Spielzeiten natürlich wie heute üblich mit allen verfügbaren Daten wie Aufnahmedatum, Ort und Produzenten. "Verfügbar" deshalb, weil bei Columbia es anscheinend nicht wie bei der RCA üblich war, die Toningeneure mit zu vermerken. Dafür gibt es Hinweise, wo die originalen LP-Hüllen in der Beschriftung dem Inhalt der CD angeglichen wurden. Das war deshalb nötig (oder auchc nicht, da Artwork weniger als Info genutzt wird), weil ein paar Veränderungen der Werkkopplungen vorgenommen wurden. So sind z.B. alle LPs, auf denen noch ein anderen Dirigenten bzw. ein anderes Orchester vorhanden war (Reiner, Ormandy) nur mit Aufnahmen von Szell bestückt. Das stört nicht weiter, weil die Eingriffe gut begründet sind und es sich auch nicht um allzuviele LPs handelt. Die LPs sind auch hier wie in anderen der letzten SONY Boxen VÖs oft in zusätzlich anderen alternativen Cover von Wiederveröffentlichungen oder anderen Zusammenstellungen gezeigt. Ein Komponistenregister (das außer bei Sony leider öfters vergessen wird) macht die Sache perfekt. Es gibt m.E. editorisch absolut nichts auszusetzen. CD TRANSFERS Meine Anmerkungen zu den CD-Transfers kann ich erfreulicherweise sehr knapp halten. Alle Digitalisierungen der Aufnahmen von 1946 bis 1970, die ich in der kurzen Zeit bis jetzt hören konnte, sind absolut perfekt! Andere Transfers klingen anders und manchmal (aber eher selten) auch vergleichbar gut (die schwarze Korea Box oder ein paar der älteren Masterwork Ausgaben), aber das gesamte Niveau der Transfers und das Ohr der Remasterer für das besondere dieser Aufnahmen ist bestechend. Nur eine LITV-CD von Lani Spar (Dvorak Slav Tänze 1956) war etwas frischer als der Transfer in der Box. Noch nie haben auf CD die Bruckner 3te und 8te, oder die Mahler 4te und besonders die 6te mit Szell so gut geklungen wie hier! Es wird nichts weggeschnitten und es gibt auch keine zusätzlichen Hallspitzen. Das mag manche Aufnahmen erstaunlich "klein" und ohne "Dampf", ja manche sogar etwas stumpf klingen lassen, ist aber äußerst präzise und ehrlich und spiegelt die wahre Raumakustik wider, in der die aufgenommene Musik ja entstanden ist. In ganz wenigen Fällen mit stärkerem Bandrauschen (z.B. Walton 2te oder Tschaikowsky KlavKonz 1 Graffman) ist die ältere "verrauschtere" Masterwork-Ausgabe vielleicht eine interessante Alternative, aber nicht zwingend notwendig. Die wunderbare Kodaly "Hary Janos" Prokofieff "Lieutnant Kije" Platte zweigt, dass auch trotz Rauschminimierung nichts fehlen muss und Balance (Klangpyramide) und Räumlichkeit dadurch sogar natürlicher erscheinen. Was hätte noch "sein können"? Man hätte die Livemitschnitte der Konzerte aus Tokyo (2 CDs) mit Sibelius 2ter u.a. hinzunehmen können. Diese sidn in der SONY Korea Box enthalten, oder auch wie dort die Bruckner 7te mit dem WPO oder auch die Bruckner 3te mit Dresden. Hätte man . . . GESAMTEINDRUCK Diese wunderbare Box gibt nur Anlass zur Freude. Und sie befeuert vielleicht wieder einmal eine Grundsatzfrage, der heute in der Zeit nach Reiner, Szell oder Boulez etwas der Zündstoff fehlt: Was ist Interpretation? Wie bei den unterschiedlichen Ansichten zur "richtigen" Aufführung alter Musik wird George Szell und das stark kontrollierte Spiel des Cleveland Orchestras wohl für alle Generationen und Zeiten ein Stein des Anstoßes (im Sinne von Anregung) bleiben, was Emotionalität in der musikalischen Aufführung sein kann, welche Gesichter diese haben kann und wieviel davon zu zeigen und einzusetzen "richtig" ist. Das berührt die alte Frage nach der Notwendigkeit von Interpretation ebenso wie den Wandel der hirarchischen Orchesterstruktur. Herzlichen Glückwunsch zu diesem tollen und rundum gelungenen Projekt, Sony! Sehr geehrte Entscheidungsträger bei Sony, falls diese Anregung noch nötig sein sollte - hier gerne ausgesprochen: Auch die Dirigenten Ormandy (in D weit unterschätzt, mono und stereo, Columbia und RCA), Leinsdorf (in D fast vergessen, RCA), Frederick Stock (außerhalb USA völlig unbekannt, mono, Columbia und RCA), Stokowski (nur immer wieder das gleiche veröffentlicht, mono und stereo, RCA), Koussevitzky (auch fast vergessen, mono, RCA), Mitropoulos (auch hier immer wieder die gleichen VÖs, mono und stereo, Columbia) und Reiner (nur Stereo CSO bekannt, mono, Columbia und RCA) wäre solch einer Würdigung in eher kleineren (Stock, Reiner, Koussevitzky, Mitropoulos), großen (Stokowski, Leinsdorf) oder sehr großen (Ormandy) Boxen wert. Wagt zumindest schon den Digitaltransfer für das Remastering, solange die Matrizen und 78rpm noch verfügbar und Masterbänder noch nicht zerfallen sind!

I'd give this more or less an outright recommendation. Performance, sound, presentation, accompanying info. I have most of these recordings already in one form or another, but still couldn't resist this. There's so much detail given by some other reviewers, that there's little point in trying to add to that. The following points are purely very minor niggles indeed: 1. CD 3 Mozart Symphony 39 (1949); Haydn: Symphony 92 (1949). Original art EXCEPT, footnote in excellent 'booklet' (c. 150 pages, hardcover) says: "We have altered the contents of Lp ML 4109 and replaced Haydn's Symphony 88 (perf. Ormandy/Philadelphia) with No. 92 (Szell) etc. - adjusted artwork reflects this" etc. Fine, BUT, even allowing for the principle of saving disc space and that this is a Szell 'only' boxed set, I'd ideally preferred it if Sony had provided the whole of the first edition album, even given that Lp Side 2 wasn't conducted by Szell, being with Ormandy and the Philapelphia Orchestra. One or two other similar examples occur with adjusted art regarding Szell's mono Mendelssohn Italian Symphony, first paired with Mitropoulos conducting the capriccio brillante and one or two further pieces. The latter has been replaced with Hindemith and Strauss with Szell, which again maybe could have been with THAT original art. Again, ideally, even though the original art for all of these pieces is shown in the booklet, I'd have preferred the original Lp layout and corresponding art reflecting that, instead of the adapted Mendelssohn only Lp sleeve. (Btw, there is, nevertheless, the occasional non-Szell item, eg. Schippers accompanying Francescatti in Bruch as a filler for the Mendelssohn Violin Cto). 2. Recording dates: pretty complete, but can be misleading, eg. re CD 61 'Bohemian Carnival': booklet reads "Recording: Cleveland, Severance Hall January 4/5, 1963 [1-9]; Aug 2 1962 [2-4; 6-9]; July 19, 1962 [5-9]. It appears at first reading that there are one or two typos there. I was confused further when my Sony Essential Classics (stereo) Slavonic Dances (4 of which appear on this album) had the dates as 1963 (only). I was only able to ascertain what exactly was going on here via reference to the book, 'The Cleveland Orchestra Story' by Donald Rosenberg. This made it clear that some the stereo Slavonic Dances were partly recorded one one day, but completed on another, up to some 4 months apart. To be fair there is further album recording/date info. at the back of the booklet supplied, but even so, this was a battle to work out at first. NB: on the stereo Slavonic Dances disc, the four dances on 'Bohemian Carnival' have rightly been duplicated. Good move. 3. All that said, this, overall, must have been a labour of love for many at Sony who have done a magnificent job as proud current owners of the vast proportion of Szell's recorded legacy. A REQUEST: we've had Bernstein and now the Szell 'Complete' editions, but IS THERE NOW ANY CHANCE OF AN ORMANDY EQUIVALENT please (including mono recs - even if the whole thing was in two/three/four huge volumes? I know - looking at the Philly Orch discography this would indeed be gigantic, but there's still much unreleased Ormandy stuff and I'm sure - given that the Szell appears to be selling well - there'd be a similar custom for Ormandy, making my life complete at least! Whatever! Buy without hesitation.

Świetny zestaw. Bardzo dobra pozycja w bibliotece melomana

Questo è un cofanetto che fa la storia della musica registrata. George Szell è un direttore straordinatio. Tutto ciò che dirige è da considerarsi ai vertici interpreativi. Le rimasteruzzazioni e la qualità delle registrazioni fanno letteralmente entusiasmare chiunque. Unica pecca di tutti questi cofanetti Sony è l'eccessivo ingombro.

Como muchos melómanos, me quedé sin la primera edición de esta caja porque se agotó enseguidísima. Hace pocos meses la reeditaron, y menos mal que me he enterado a tiempo. Szell es unánimemente reconocido como uno de los mejores directores orquestales (no grabó óperas en estudio, que yo sepa) de todos los tiempos. Vivió el momento del inicio del estéreo, en que se realizaron numerosas nuevas grabaciones del repertorio más tradicional, y también de obras menos frecuentes, siempre con gran cuidado y esmero en la calidad del sonido. A Szell lo descubrí buscando una versión de oberturas de Rossini que me gustara al 100%. Las de Abbado o Pappano eran excelentes, pero siempre había pequeños detalles de tempi o de claridad que, en mi opinión, aún dejaban opción a mejora. Vi excelentes críticas de las de Szell, las pedí...y me maravillaron. Para mí, perfectas en todos los sentidos. Cuando quiero escuchar oberturas de Rossini, que es un alegravidas, ya no escucho más que las de Szell. El grado de excelencia de esta orquesta con este director es tal y como dicen tantos admiradores: claridad, sencillez, musicalidad, equilibrio entre todos los instrumentos, claridad textural, tempi perfectos, sin excesos innecesarios pero con un brillo y una energía que ya quisieran los directores actuales. Escuchar su quinta de Beethoven o su Grande de Schubert es como descubrir esas maravillas por primera vez. Tal vez en Brahms es mejorable, pero el resto (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Smetana, Dvorak) es, para mí, imbatible. La emoción no se crea con artificios, sino que se hace brotar, pura, desde el interior de la música. No hay palabras... Y claro, luego está la edición de la caja. Un estuche rígido y sólido, de excelente diseño. Los 106 (¡sí, 106!) discos con sus carátulas originales, en cartón rígido de fácil manejo, colocados de modo que, de un vistazo, se ven todos con sus contenidos...inmejorable. Las remasterizaciones son, simplemente, milagrosas. En muchos aspectos de claridad, equilibrio y separación instrumental son incluso mejores que ciertas actuales. El rango dinámico es, por supuesto, menor, pero sorprendentemente bueno para la época y para épocas posteriores. Y un libro estupendo, en gran formato y tapas duras, bien ilustrado, con información sobre todos y cada uno de los discos. No se puede pedir más. Lo conseguí por poco más de 244 euros. Sí, es mucho, pero realmente merece la pena. Poco más de dos euros por disco, en esta edición de auténtico lujo. Aunque vaya subiendo de precio, seguirá mereciendo la pena. Eso sí, daos prisa o volverán los tiempos en que sólo quedaban cajas de segunda mano a precios de cuatro dígitos...