Word: szell
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Dates: during 1970-1970
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...Szell's musical odyssey ended in Cleveland, where he put together a fine orchestra. But due to the unfortunate priorities of the record market, we do not have as much of Szell on discs as we could have. The company for which he recorded also holds contracts with the New York Philharmonic, and, until recently, recorded the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is widely believed Szell felt severely neglected by Columbia, which recognized the general popularity of such well-known figures as Leonard Bernstein and Eugene Ormandy, and conducted elaborate advertising campaigns for their records. The company seemed to record less...
...SZELL conducted a wide variety of composers, and a large number of works. He was weakest where Barbirolli was strongest, in the post-Romantics. Nonetheless, a recording which Columbia released after his death, of the Bruckner Eighth Symphony, is a truly fine work. Szell's genius was diffuse. He conducted so many composers well that it is hard to single out one set of performances for particular distinction. Besides being a great conductor, he was a great man. Although his control of the orchestra was tight and somewhat tyrannical, he was still well liked. Before he died, he conducted several...
...deaths of Barbirolli and Szell leave a gap in the musical universe. This year, both were scheduled to give a large number of guest concerts with the New York Philharmonic, and several other orchestras. It will certainly be impossible to find men of equal stature, and it will be difficult to find competent men to replace them. There is a hiatus in the world of conductors at the moment; many of the older greats have died and retired, while the talented younger men are still too immature to take their places. A premature elevation to high status can ruin...
...Perlea, Szell, Barbirolli-all dead. Each of them leaves something of himself in his recordings, in the orchestra he led, in the students he taught, but there is no doubt that the world of conducting has been robbed of some of its finest people. Who will take their places? At the moment, it is hard to tell. Most of the men taking over major orchestras today are young, perhaps too young to command the positions they hold. Pierre Boulez has reached the stage where he is ready to take over the New York Philharmonic, but Michael Tilson Thomas is, alas...
...Szell and Barbirolli has come to an end. The school of conductors which they represent has been virtually laid to rest. Composers have changed, and conductors need new training, and new attitudes, to meet the requirements of the new music. It is hard to say where music is going, but easy to see that it is at a crossroads. Music is now a plastic art, and musicians also must be plastic. Conducting has come far from the day when the first conductor beat time with a large wooden staff. Each of the conductors we have recently lost added something...