Review: The Big SZELL BOX is Back from Sony! Let's Get To It!

[leekramer]

Back in 1977 I was working in the classical music department of The Record Hunter on 5th Ave. Whenever we put the Szell - Robert Marcellus recording of the Mozart clarinet concerto, invariably we would sell a couple of copies. This was the only record during my 2 years there that would always sell itself. So gorgeous!

[brunop]

Even if I already own many of these recordings individually, I followed your advice and bought the full set, and listened about half of it. Indeed, Szell is sitting in the Olympus among the best conductors. And he's truly at times overlooked, if not underestimated. Not a single less than very good performance, many are absolutely love the wit and panache of his Haydn ( 88's last movement...exhilarating), the sugar-free tenderness and elegance of his Mozart, the idiomaticity of his Dvorak, the sober rightness of his Schumann, the restrained, modern romanticism of his Brahms (" the could go on an on through the whole series. I love his music making! A box for the ages. David, I'll keep on listening you. Regards from Italy.

[KEIGOTSUJINO]

I am a big fan of George Szell .I went to the concert by this great conductor in Tokyo .That is my unforgettable musical experience. sorry for my poor English . Thank you .

[jgonzo]

Clevelander here - so excited for this to finally be coming out! The Orchestra is our pride and joy and Szell its greatest leader (apologies and all due respect to Herr Welzer-Most notwithstanding)!!!

[jdistler]

The Horowitz/Szell live NYP Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 indeed was on Palexa, but its first "official" release was in the big Horowitz at Carnegie Hall box set that I annotated, which is sadly out-of-print. But how wonderful to see the Szell box back again, and thank you for going through it for all of us.

[willgreenpianist]

GREAT VIDEO DAVE!!! Yes, Szell was incredible!! My favorite Wagner disc, too, and I especially enjoy his Richard Strauss. His Till Eulenspiegel makes me fall of my chair in laughter. As do you!! Thanks for all of your fantastic videos. Keep them coming!!! I'm keeping on listening, Dave, thanks to you. See you next time!!

[HassoBenSoba]

Yes, Szell/Cleveland represents a consistently higher level of quality across a greater time span than any other conductor/orchestra in recorded history. What a treasure, beautifully preserved in this mega-box. Szell recorded the Symphonia Domestica (and WHY NOT, I ask?; it's a fabulous work) in honor of Strauss' 100th birthday ('64). I'm sure the decision was more complicated, but it seems that the honor went to Columbia's "B Team" (Szell/Cleveland), as opposed to one of their two "A's", NY or Philly. I was a freshman at the Cleveland Institute during Szell's last year, and managed to sit in on a couple on a couple of rehearsals. I heard his performances of Mozart Concerto No. 24 (w/Casadesus) and the Mahler Lied von der Erde (the famous one that almost got recorded commercially, with Janet Baker and Richard Lewis). If we had only known that this was the end of the LR

[hugginduff]

I grew up with George Szell / Cleveland. Saw him at Severance Hall and Blossom music center during the summer.. He was, according to most critics, was always in the top 5 orchestras during his 24 year tenure. and the only american orchestra in that top 5. I still have the newspaper clipping of his passing in 1970...I was so depressed. The only other conductor that is his equal is Carlos Kleiber. One of my fav recordings beside the Beethoven symphonies is his recording with John Browning of the Barber piano concerto.. the orchestra is so amazing especially in the 2nd movement. He usually stuck with the classical and romantic period, but for some reason he decided to record this great concerto, a staple of the modern era.

[musiconrecord]

Imagine my joy when I saw the notification for your video. I thought this box would never be reissued (I missed it first time around). Growing up in UK Szell wasn't really on my radar, and it's only in recent years that I have started to appreciate him. I have a few choice records (Walton, Hindemith, his fantastic Handel Water Music). But now I get to dive in at the deep end - just ordered the box at a very reasonable price from Grooves, Inc. It was because of you I got the Ormandy box (which is beyond fantastic) and now this. Sony really does these boxes right on every level, as does Eloquence. Wish the other labels would follow their

[steveschwartz]

I still have a fondness for Szell's Janacek Sinfonietta. It introduced me to the piece.

The Mahler 4 remains one of my favorite 4s. A lot of that stems from the clarity of playing, lack of slop, and avoidance of over-inflating. Raskin's solo pushes it into the sublime.

[huismanq]

Somm Recordings released 'The Forgotten Recordings' a while ago. Some very early stereo stuff (and some mono) from 1954 and 1955, made for Book-of-the-Month Club. It's a nice supplement to this box.

[Plantagenet]

Thought I’d let everyone know, today George Szell is 125 years old!

[yvonnekoopman]

At $4.25 per disk ($445 for the box) on AMZN, this is a steal. If I was just starting out, I would buy it in a heartbeat as a collection cornerstone! Terrific recommendation.

[dmntuba]

After a long, hard day at work what a joy to come home to this wonderful Szell video.
My heart & soul are overjoyed with review/discussion of so many of my favorite recordings 😁

[leedsleeds]

Szell made a terrific Dvorak 8 for Decca in the fifties. It features the most riotous version of the finale I've ever heard! It's contained in a long-deleted Decca box.

[jvnjr]

Dave opportunity knocked again, with me having a shot at buying the Szell box. I used to collect a real lot of CDs, buying a lot with each and every year with all my spare pocket change, perhaps with a collecting 2 to 300 per year, dating back from 1985. But around when I turned 65, simultaneously with getting two baths of cancer, I almost say good that my compact disc collecting days we're about to come to an end. The collecting tapered off, although of course the listening never did, and the music appreciation never did.
And at that time I kind of asked myself "how many more times am I ever going to get through listening to all of this stuff even which I already had previously collected up until that time again. My collection was substantial for a good number of years. Iona literally thousands of classical, and I froze let's buy a tent with collecting anything else from about that there.

But through Good Fortune at Amazon, recently with Jeff bezos putting the Szelll box on sale for the almost unheard-of price of $129. And change plus tax for however long it lasts, as of when I first view this review I ordered it because there were still fourteen left wich surprise me.

[glennsolva]

Thank you for directing my attention to this George Szell box set. Now i have it. Great to be able to find out these things from someone. Previously i only had like 10-12 original vinyls with Szell. So i knew just how great work he did. 🎼🎶🎶

[tiptopthai]

I've just seen on Amazon that a Dimitri Mitropoulos box is being released by Sony on 22nd April, complete RCA and Columbia recordings on 69 CDs. I'M SO HAPPY!!!

[vKarl]

The Szell Sibelius 2 from Tokyo is available on utub, if you want an idea how great it is. Is the CD available anywhere?
Also: Szell (on piano) & Rafael Druian (Cleveland concertmaster) did a delightful LP of mozart sonatas. I assume it's not in this box.

[thejils]

I have some anecdotes about Maestro Szell that I could share with you that underscores his magnificent musical presence. Like the time he was auditioning a recent piano performance grad who quipped he knew the Mozart piano concertos. Without missing a beat, Szell sat at his practice piano across from the main piano where the auditioner sat and said: "Okay, then...let's get started, shall we?" Szell proceeded to play from memory the orchedtra piano reduction of hist first PC. The auditioning pianist interrupted him: "Mr. Szell I don't know ALL the Mozart PCs." To which Szell responded without missing a beat: "Well, sir, you come back when you do."

While a teenager, I started along my aquired passion for classical music through, of all people, my ophthalmologist. It was in the mid 1960's. He told me that if I was passionate about classical music, I should aquire the recently release Szell/CO Beethoven symphony cycle on Epic. WOW! Can you imagine getting started this way with perhaps the most enduring classical recording for the ages!

I would like to think, in obviously a truly mystical and fanciful way, that Mr. Szell and deceased members of the CO of that era perform the Beethoven Symphonies ad infinitum: they are in Heaven after all (we all wish). And sitting in the audience front row with hearing acuity completely restored (again, it is Heaven) is Louie. He is smiling!