Szell on SAX
Okay, if you haven't already noticed by the change of the album covers, I'm on a George Szell high. Lately, as I've been revisiting my vinyl library and acquiring some new LPs, I've come to really appreciate the genius of his art. He may not have been the friendliest of conductors on the podium, but he brought such a degree of precision to the Cleveland Orchestra and transformed it into one hell of an ensemble during his tenure. I've been collecting his UK pressings on the Columbia/EMI SAX label, which are some of the rarest (and, sadly, equally expensive) and finest classical records, particularly his classical repertoire (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, etc). I've been interested for some time in whether his UK pressings were indeed superior to the ones pressed by US Columbia and Epic back here at home. Now, I'll be able to find out, since I have both the UK and US pressings of a few of his albums. I haven't had the chance to sit down and do a fair side by side comparison, but I hope to do so and report back. I'd like to attribute the fantastic cover art images to two sources: Classical Vinyl, a wonderful UK dealer of fine classical records, and Youngrok Lee, who has a web site dedicated to Columbia SAX records.If any of you readers have some insight to share on the topic of Columbia SAX recordings, please feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Do you think that Szell (that meanie who nonetheless made Cleveland a great orchestra) did more impressive work than Reiner (another meanie) did in Chicago?
ReplyDeleteNow that is a great question. I think they each did spectacular things with their respective orchestras. Interesting ... they were both Hungarian! Fortunately for us, their work is recorded for posterity on some fabulous sounding records! Who do you think sounded better: Chicago or Cleveland?
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ReplyDeleteDid this comparison go any further? There is certainly a huge difference in prices, are the Epic pressings that poor?
ReplyDeleteYes, I did a bit more listening to both UK and US pressings and came to the personal conclusion that the overall sound quality of the music on the SAXes and Epics was pretty comparable. For instance, the Mendelssohn Italian Symphony LP and the Bohemian Carnival LP are very similar. Where the difference may lie is in the sound floor. The quality of the vinyl for the SAXes seems better, leading to quieter surfaces and perhaps subtly allowing more detail. To be honest, I ended up selling most of my Szell SAX acquisitions -- mostly the Brahms and Schumann symphonies -- except for a few (SAX 2490, SAX 2539, SAX 2556, SAX 2493, and SAX 2459). Sonically, they sound more like their US counterparts and less like their other SAX contemporaries. I was satisfied to hang on to the Epic issues that could be bought for $1-5.
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