George Szell: A Life of MusicThis book is the first full biography of George Szell, one of the greatest orchestra and opera conductors of the twentieth century. From child prodigy pianist and composer to world-renowned conductor, Szell's career spanned seven decades, and he led most of the great orchestras and opera companies of the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the NBC and Chicago Symphonies, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and Opera, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. A protégé of composer-conductor Richard Strauss at the Berlin State Opera, his crowning achievement was his twenty-four-year tenure as musical director of the Cleveland Orchestra, transforming it into one of the world's greatest ensembles, touring triumphantly in the United States, Europe, the Soviet Union, South Korea, and Japan. Michael Charry, a conductor who worked with Szell and interviewed him, his family, and his associates over several decades, draws on this first-hand material and correspondence, orchestra records, reviews, and other archival sources to construct a lively and balanced portrait of Szell's life and work from his birth in 1897 in Budapest to his death in 1970 in Cleveland. Readers will follow Szell from his career in Europe, Great Britain, and Australia to his guest conducting at the New York Philharmonic and his distinguished tenure at the Metropolitan Opera and Cleveland Orchestra. Charry details Szell's personal and musical qualities, his recordings and broadcast concerts, his approach to the great works of the orchestral repertoire, and his famous orchestrational changes and interpretation of the symphonies of Robert Schumann. The book also lists Szell's conducting repertoire and includes a comprehensive discography. In highlighting Szell's legacy as a teacher and mentor as well as his contributions to orchestral and opera history, this biography will be of lasting interest to concert-goers, music lovers, conductors, musicians inspired by Szell's many great performances, and new generations who will come to know those performances through Szell's recorded legacy. |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 The New Mozart 18971929 | 3 |
2 The Conductor Spreads His Wings 193038 | 23 |
3 Musical Pioneering in Australia 1938 1939 | 42 |
4 New World New Beginnings 193946 | 56 |
Contest and Commitment 194247 | 78 |
Illustrations follow page 104 | 104 |
6 Szell the Orchestra Builder 194754 | 105 |
Epilogue | 289 |
In Szells Words | 291 |
Appendix A On the 150th Anniversary of Schumanns Birth | 295 |
Appendix B Staff and Kulas Foundation Conductors under George Szell | 299 |
Appendix C Apprentice Conductor Qualifications | 301 |
Appendix D 1957 European Tour Repertoire | 303 |
Appendix E 1965 European Tour Repertoire | 305 |
Appendix F Szells Repertoire | 307 |
7 George Szell and Rudolf Bing 195354 | 141 |
Second to None 195457 | 149 |
9 The Golden Years 195765 | 172 |
10 The Cleveland Orchestra in the World 196568 | 223 |
11 Summers at Home | 254 |
Cleveland Japan Korea Anchorage Cleveland 196870 | 270 |
Discography | 331 |
Notes | 355 |
| 397 | |
| 399 | |
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Common terms and phrases
acoustics American April Arthur artistic audience August Australia Beethoven Berlin Berlin State Opera Bing Blossom Boulez Brahms Brahms’s broadcast Carnegie Hall Cleveland Orchestra composer Concertgebouw concertmaster Concerto for Piano Concerto for Violin conductor contract critic Curzon debut December Druian Elwell Eroica Europe February Festival final fine Firkusny first first concert five Flothuis George Szell Gingold Golschmann guest conductor heard Helene Heuwekemeijer included interview January July June later Leon Fleisher London Louis Lane manager March Max Rudolf Metropolitan Opera Minor Mozart music director Musical Arts Association musicians November October Overture performance pianist Piano Concerto played players Prague premiere recording rehearsal repertoire Robert Casadesus Rubinstein Rudolf Serkin Salzburg Schubert Schumann score season September Severance Hall Sidlo soloists Strauss strings subscription concerts Suite summer Symphony Orchestra Szell conducted Szell returned Szell to Barksdale Szell told Szell wrote Temianka Toscanini tour Vienna Vosburgh weeks York Philharmonic Zirato