Széll György
conductor
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1897
7th June 1897, Budapest - 30th July 1970, Cleveland
One of the greatest conductors of symphony and opera of the twentieth century, George Szell is best known for his twenty-four-year musical leadership of the Cleveland Orchestra, which he built into one of the great orchestras of the world.
Born in Budapest, Szell was transplanted at the age of three when his father, who was not a musician but was a passionate music lover, moved the family to Vienna.
Szells gifts of musical ear and memory were apparent from the age of two, when he was able to sing forty folk songs in several languages and to correct his mothers playing the piano by slapping her wrist when she made mistakes. He himself studied the piano and began to compose at a very early age.
He was fortunate that his parents were advised to take him to one of the finest piano teachers in Vienna, Richard Robert -- teacher also of Clara Haskil and Rudolf Serkin -- who had a knack for treating his pupils as individuals and instilling in them a love for music and respect for the great composers, Mozart above all. Szell and Serkin remained close friends and musical collaborators throughout their lives.
As a child prodigy of eleven Szell made a concert tour of selected European cities, including London, much as had the young Mozart one hundred and fifty years earlier. Playing the piano with facility and musical understanding far beyond his years and having his early orchestral compositions performed by leading conductors and orchestras, he was often called "the new Mozart."
Protected from the usual destructive exploitation of musical prodigies by his parents, guided by Richard Robert, Szell made a minimum of concert appearances while he was privately tutored in music and general studies.
He said that by the time he was twelve he was a finished musician, meaning that he had mastered counterpoint, harmony and form. His teachers included Eusebius Mandyczewski, the great Brahms scholar, J. B. Foerster and, for a brief period, Max Reger. At the age of fourteen Szell was signed to a ten-year exclusive publishing contract with the prestigious Universal Edition in Vienna.
Although he later claimed that it was assumed that eventually he would be a conductor, Szell was first thrust into that role by accident. When he was sixteen the conductor of the summer resort concerts where he and his parents were vacationing injured his arm. Szell, who had been a constant presence around the orchestra and was known to know the music in the nights concert, was asked to take over, which he did with poise and great success.
That was the proverbial turning point. His child prodigy and student days over, at the age of seventeen, he made a debut concert with an orchestra in Berlin as pianist, composer and conductor. Thereafter Szell made his musical way in a succession of increasingly responsible opera positions, from unpaid pianist-coach at the Royal Opera in Berlin under Richard Strauss to top conductor at the German Opera in Prague.
Szell gradually gravitated into concert conducting, through guest appearances, radio concerts, early recordings and, in Prague, through the direction of symphony concerts in connection with his opera post. With the ominous political climate developing in central Europe in the late 1930s, Szell moved his musical activities to the Netherlands and the British Isles, guest conducting the major London orchestras and becoming conductor of the Scottish Orchestra (following John Barbirolli who went to the New York Philharmonic) and principal guest conductor of the Residence Orchestra in the Hague.
In the summers of 1938 and 1939 Szell was invited by the Australian Broadcasting Commission to conduct the Celebrity Series of concerts over a period of several months (it was the winter season down under). In August 1939, with the worsening situation in Europe, Szell and his wife settled in New York, where, after a year of conducting inactivity (during which he taught at the Mannes School of Music and the New School for Social Research), his career resumed. Invitations to the Hollywood Bowl, Detroit Symphony, Robin Hood Dell and the Ravinia Festival followed. In 1941 Arturo Toscanini, who had known of his work in the Hague, invited him to conduct four concerts of the NBC Symphony. In 1942 he made his début at the Metropolitan Opera, where he became a mainstay of the conducting staff for the next four years, and in 1943 he began a lifelong association with the New York Philharmonic. Szell was guest conductor for two seasons in Cleveland and became its musical director in 1946.
After World War II, Szell returned often to the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and conducted frequently at the Salzburg Festival.
Rightly known for his preeminent interpretations of the classical and romantic repertoire, Szell performed much music of the 20th century. In addition to works by Hindemith, Bartók, Walton and some Stravinsky, Szell conducted a number of United States and Cleveland premieres, as well as many world premieres, quite a few of which were commissioned by him and the Cleveland Orchestra. Living composers whose works he conducted included Morton Gould, Lucas Foss, Peter Mennin, Harold Shapero, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, George Rochberg, Samuel Barber, Gottfried von Einem, Henri Dutilleux, Alvin Etler, Ernst Krenek and Ernst Toch. At the Salzburg Festival Szell conducted world premieres of the operas School for Wives and Penelope by Rolf Liebermann and Wagner Egks Irish Legend.
Szells artistry, as amply demonstrated by his recorded legacy, is his depth of understanding of the great classic and romantic composers -- Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and Dvorák -- and the brilliance he brought to his interpretations of music of the twentieth century. Although he appeared with almost all the great orchestras of the world, the Cleveland Orchestra, which he built and trained, remained the ideal instrument for his expression. The qualities he imbued in the Cleveland Orchestra, its refinement and power, its reflection of his ideal of chamber music clarity, remains to this day as a characteristic of this great ensemble after more than a quarter of a century and three subsequent music directors.
One of the greatest conductors of symphony and opera of the twentieth century, George Szell is best known for his twenty-four-year musical leadership of the Cleveland Orchestra, which he built into one of the great orchestras of the world.
Born in Budapest, Szell was transplanted at the age of three when his father, who was not a musician but was a passionate music lover, moved the family to Vienna.
Szells gifts of musical ear and memory were apparent from the age of two, when he was able to sing forty folk songs in several languages and to correct his mothers playing the piano by slapping her wrist when she made mistakes. He himself studied the piano and began to compose at a very early age.
He was fortunate that his parents were advised to take him to one of the finest piano teachers in Vienna, Richard Robert -- teacher also of Clara Haskil and Rudolf Serkin -- who had a knack for treating his pupils as individuals and instilling in them a love for music and respect for the great composers, Mozart above all. Szell and Serkin remained close friends and musical collaborators throughout their lives.
As a child prodigy of eleven Szell made a concert tour of selected European cities, including London, much as had the young Mozart one hundred and fifty years earlier. Playing the piano with facility and musical understanding far beyond his years and having his early orchestral compositions performed by leading conductors and orchestras, he was often called "the new Mozart."
Protected from the usual destructive exploitation of musical prodigies by his parents, guided by Richard Robert, Szell made a minimum of concert appearances while he was privately tutored in music and general studies.
He said that by the time he was twelve he was a finished musician, meaning that he had mastered counterpoint, harmony and form. His teachers included Eusebius Mandyczewski, the great Brahms scholar, J. B. Foerster and, for a brief period, Max Reger. At the age of fourteen Szell was signed to a ten-year exclusive publishing contract with the prestigious Universal Edition in Vienna.
Although he later claimed that it was assumed that eventually he would be a conductor, Szell was first thrust into that role by accident. When he was sixteen the conductor of the summer resort concerts where he and his parents were vacationing injured his arm. Szell, who had been a constant presence around the orchestra and was known to know the music in the nights concert, was asked to take over, which he did with poise and great success.
That was the proverbial turning point. His child prodigy and student days over, at the age of seventeen, he made a debut concert with an orchestra in Berlin as pianist, composer and conductor. Thereafter Szell made his musical way in a succession of increasingly responsible opera positions, from unpaid pianist-coach at the Royal Opera in Berlin under Richard Strauss to top conductor at the German Opera in Prague.
Szell gradually gravitated into concert conducting, through guest appearances, radio concerts, early recordings and, in Prague, through the direction of symphony concerts in connection with his opera post. With the ominous political climate developing in central Europe in the late 1930s, Szell moved his musical activities to the Netherlands and the British Isles, guest conducting the major London orchestras and becoming conductor of the Scottish Orchestra (following John Barbirolli who went to the New York Philharmonic) and principal guest conductor of the Residence Orchestra in the Hague.
In the summers of 1938 and 1939 Szell was invited by the Australian Broadcasting Commission to conduct the Celebrity Series of concerts over a period of several months (it was the winter season down under). In August 1939, with the worsening situation in Europe, Szell and his wife settled in New York, where, after a year of conducting inactivity (during which he taught at the Mannes School of Music and the New School for Social Research), his career resumed. Invitations to the Hollywood Bowl, Detroit Symphony, Robin Hood Dell and the Ravinia Festival followed. In 1941 Arturo Toscanini, who had known of his work in the Hague, invited him to conduct four concerts of the NBC Symphony. In 1942 he made his début at the Metropolitan Opera, where he became a mainstay of the conducting staff for the next four years, and in 1943 he began a lifelong association with the New York Philharmonic. Szell was guest conductor for two seasons in Cleveland and became its musical director in 1946.
After World War II, Szell returned often to the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and conducted frequently at the Salzburg Festival.
Rightly known for his preeminent interpretations of the classical and romantic repertoire, Szell performed much music of the 20th century. In addition to works by Hindemith, Bartók, Walton and some Stravinsky, Szell conducted a number of United States and Cleveland premieres, as well as many world premieres, quite a few of which were commissioned by him and the Cleveland Orchestra. Living composers whose works he conducted included Morton Gould, Lucas Foss, Peter Mennin, Harold Shapero, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, George Rochberg, Samuel Barber, Gottfried von Einem, Henri Dutilleux, Alvin Etler, Ernst Krenek and Ernst Toch. At the Salzburg Festival Szell conducted world premieres of the operas School for Wives and Penelope by Rolf Liebermann and Wagner Egks Irish Legend.
Szells artistry, as amply demonstrated by his recorded legacy, is his depth of understanding of the great classic and romantic composers -- Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and Dvorák -- and the brilliance he brought to his interpretations of music of the twentieth century. Although he appeared with almost all the great orchestras of the world, the Cleveland Orchestra, which he built and trained, remained the ideal instrument for his expression. The qualities he imbued in the Cleveland Orchestra, its refinement and power, its reflection of his ideal of chamber music clarity, remains to this day as a characteristic of this great ensemble after more than a quarter of a century and three subsequent music directors.