George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra
– The Forgotten Recordings
Works by JS Bach, Brahms, Mozart, Smetana, Schumann and Stravinsky
Cleveland Orchestra/George Szell
SOMM Recordings ARIADNE 5011-2 142:57 mins (2 discs)
These 1954-55 recordings were originally issued by the Book-of-the-Month Club, with the orchestra – then contracted to Columbia – under a pseudonym. Szell later re-recorded almost all the repertoire, but it’s fascinating to hear the partnership when their much-vaunted precision was well in progress, if not immaculate. Bach’s Third Suite is lightweight, with crisp double-dotted rhythms in the overture and tempos which don’t drag. It’s in acceptable mono sound, as are Smetana’s Vltava, with real swagger in the central section, and Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel, full of humour and edge. The stereo recordings, made under less time pressure, show how…