专辑简介

Hungarian born conductor George Szell will always be remembered as one of the great master perfectionists among the conductors of the 20th century. For almost two and a half decades (from 1946 until his death in 1970) Szell was the musical director of the Cleveland Orchestra in Ohio / USA, but the conductor's roots were European. His career started during the first World War in Berlin, his successful debut in the United States took place in 1930 and in 1939 he moved permanently to America as a consequence of the outbreak of World War 2. His debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York took place in 1942 and from 1946 he found his permanent musical home in Cleveland. After World War 2 extensive tours took Szell back to Europe, and here, in London and Cologne the tracks for this new album were recorded. The British government even appointed Szell an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1963. The recordings of George Szell are unique in many ways not only for their high degree of perfection. US Music critic Ted Libbey once wrote, "Szell's formidable musicianship and paternal authority commanded equal measures of respect from the Cleveland players, who under his baton achieved what was probably the highest executant standard of any orchestra in the world."