George Szell: 1) conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony (concert, September 28, 1967); 2) interview with John Culshaw (BBC, September 1968, London); 3) conducts Cleveland Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (concert at Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, August 16, 1969). [All three are audio only.]

Jan 23, 2022 | Ramblings, Videos | 3 comments

John Culshaw (1924-80), Decca producer, photographed (right) with Georg Solti

I assume the Prokofiev, which post-dates Szell’s CBS/Cleveland recording by several years, is from Severance Hall, but as the YouTube poster is Japanese maybe it’s from a tour the Clevelanders made of that country. The Tchaikovsky is a find given Szell (who died in 1970) didn’t record it commercially (as far as I know!).

3 Comments

  1. Duncan Moore
    Duncan Moore on January 23, 2022 at 1:00 pm

    Three amazing rescue jobs! Many thanks.

    Reply
    • Peter Jenkins
      Peter Jenkins on January 24, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      By turns an electrifying and extremely moving performance of the Pathetique – with playing of the highest order, as one might expect. And more …. Just stunning.

      Pity the audience applauded after mvt. iii, and applauded for so long! But the cutoff to silence at the end was very welcome.

      Reply

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