Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Historic Telecasts with George Szell (Mussorgsky / Beethoven / Berlioz / Mozart)

The product summary refers to this 1961 recording as having been made in the "twilight" of Szell's career. I would beg to differ and suggest that he did some of his very best work in the ten years before his death in 1970.As another reviewer noted, it would be nice to see more video of Szell with Cleveland, an orchestra he personally turned into (one of) the best in the world. (It still is: A number of years after Szell died, Cleveland's subsequent music director Christoph von Dohnányi was quoted in the NYT as saying, "We give a great concert, and George Szell gets a great review.")That said, while Szell was building a superb orchestra in Cleveland, Fritz Reiner was also polishing what was already a pretty fine orchestra in Chicago. The CSO's style then was similar in some ways to the style of Szell's Cleveland Orchestra.So even though this recording is not with Cleveland, it's still a very interesting look back at what one great maestro could do with another great maestro's outstanding orchestra.

I was delighted to find a DVD of George Szell's work. Unfortunately it's with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra rather than the Cleveland Orchestra, the musical instrument that George Szell turned into the greatest orchestra in the world. I was tempted to give only four stars because of the antiquated audio of the DVD; but I decided that was a "revisionist" injustice. George Szell was the greatest orchestral conductor of the Twentiesth Century. Seeing him work with any orchestra is a miracle. Sadly. even now only the most dedicated of classical music nuts know who he was and he's been gone only thirty-some years.

There is a whole lot of good with this DVD, but unfortunately it runs out after the first half.I had never seen Szell conducting before and I have to admit, he's now my 2nd favorite conductor. That is, if I were rating conductors based on how easy they'd be to follow if I were an orchestral musician. (My favorite is still Erich Leinsdorf, if anyone asked.) That isn't to imply I don't like Szell or Leinsdorf purely for listening enjoyment, not at all. That is just saying he is an excellent conductor in that his intentions or at least his gestures are unmistakeably clear. But I also recognize there are conductors who consistently give a great performance and I have no idea how, based on baton technique (or absolute lack thereof) ... take for example, Charles Munch, or Furtwangler.But this review is concerning this DVD, and suffice it to say, watching Szell is a revelation, and I'm grateful for the experience. That is, for the first half anyway.The DVD encompasses two broadcasts of the Chicago Symphony, dated December 10 and December 17, 1961. They are not telecasts of live performances at Symphony Hall (whether Chicago or Cleveland or elsewhere), rather they were recorded in a kitschy television studio, (presumably WGN) decorated with faux curtains and without audience. So there is basically zero realistic concert ambience, no reverb and no audience noise, but at least one can concentrate on the raw music and techniques of music-making.I assume the first half of the concert is the December 10 broadcast. This consists of Mussorgsky Prelude to Khovantschina, the Beethoven 5th, and Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture. Everything in this section is a pure joy to watch and listen to. The videotape picture is better than one would expect for 1961, the sound a totally acceptable mono. I was, how shall we say, sitting pretty in heavenly bliss, enjoying the concert and awaiting the piece de resistance, the Mozart violin concerto with Erica Morini.Then things turned ugly for the 2nd half, which I assume was the December 17 broadcast. The video was now WORSE than one would expect for 1961 (and one should not expect much at all video-wise for 1961, that I grant). Now the picture was murky and muddy, although the sound quality still good. I could tolerate the experience, however, except for the worst baddity of all, that is the sound and audio are not in synch. Who in the heck wants to listen to the Marriage of Figaro overture, with the sound and video out of synch? Here we have Szell frantically beating time and dragging BEHIND the orchestra, a most unseemly arrangement. I thought it might be a one-time freak anomaly, but to my horror it was the same with the Morini concerto. She is sawing away, back and forth, and the sawing does not match the music. And Morini is the main reason I shelled out money for this more-expensive-than-average DVD.I know she was a great violinist, but not so good that one would hear an attack followed by a beautiful stream of sound, and then visually watch the same thing happen a moment or two or three later. I did manage to sit thru all three movements, mostly with my eyes closed, occasionally peeping out to see if the remasterer had fixed the mess midstream. They hadn't. (The music is very lovely though!) There's also a Leonore Overture No. 3 to round out the DVD, which I owed to my sanity to decline the further sensation of motion sickness.So, frankly, the two-star rating is generous. It does not reflect on the performances, rather the lackadaisical attitude of VAI in releasing this stuff without fixing it. I believe ... not sure, please correct me if I'm wrong ... it's possible to fix if the error is constant, which it appears to be. I believe the technology for that has been available since the very beginning, and certainly made easier with software.Therefore I have to DISRECOMMEND this DVD, and urge VAI to remaster it as it SHOULD BE DONE. And if so I would be first to buy it.There is one more little oddity I will mention, although not a deal-breaker, it sort of shows the attitude of people who produce these things. The photograph of Erica Morini, shown on the back of the DVD cover, is from her youth, about 40 years previous (maybe only 30 years previous) (maybe) to her age in this program. You will say age is not important, and I agree. If not important, then WHY NOT use a reasonably current photo of her??That said, the sound synch problem is what kills this DVD. Please let me know when it's fixed ...

Recommended for :(i) the nice and rather easly listening repertoire;(ii) it gives us a much better idea of how Szell conducts;(iii) we could readily compare Szell with his successor Sir George Solti, and(iv) most importantly of all, we have Morini, one of the greatest violinists of the century (from the Viennese School) playing Mozart-- her footage alone is worth the ticket already, especially for those who have a ear or taste for the more refine and assuring sort of music and suffice to say that among all violinists of the past, Hilary Hann would particualarly love to see Morinin at work!The sound is indeed quite good and the picture is more than acceptable.