Budget Boxed Sets: Szell's Schumann Symphony Cycle

Columbia (CBS) Odyssey Y3 30844

The Four Schumann Symphonies

The Cleveland Orchestra

George Szell, conductor

Matrix numbers:

Side 1 XXSB-47518-1AG / Side 6 XSB-51655-2AD

Side 2 AL 30846-1B / Side 5 MBL 30846-1A

Side 3 MAL 30847-1A / Side 4 MBL 30847-1B

George Szell's Schumann symphony cycle with the Cleveland Orchestra has held up well against the test of time and still stands as one of the great ones.  These were originally released in the US on the Epic label between 1959 and 1963 and in the UK on the Columbia label.   This week marks 10 years since we first reviewed those highly sought after SAX issues: SAX 2475, SAX 2496, and SAX 2506.  At the time, my impression was that one paid a huge premium for these UK remastered pressings, and they did not offer markedly superior sound when compared with their original US Epic counterparts.  Fast forward 10 years, and these SAX pressings still sell for large sums of money on used LP market.  Collectors' frenzy?  

On a recent trip to my local record shop, I came across the CBS Odyssey budget boxed set of the Szell Schumann symphony cycle for $3 USD.  The box itself was in decent condition, and all three records, relative thin and flimsy as they were, appeared virtually unplayed.  For the price, it was hard to beat.

I no longer own the corresponding Columbia SAX records and can't say that I clearly remember how they sound today.  However, I am happy to report that these Odyssey budget reissues are quite good and, in my opinion, do justice to Szell's and the Cleveland Orchestra's performances.  In my review of SAX 2496, I was a bit downtrodden by its more constricted, dry sound signature and lack of much bass extension.  While by no means do these reissues abound with bass, the bass does seem a touch improved.  Interestingly, I learned from Pat McGrath of Looney Tunes that one of the reasons that bass may have been weak on many of Szell's CBS recordings was that the monitor speakers were placed on the floor in the recording studio, which may have affected how Szell perceived the lower frequencies during playback sessions. In general, the sound of these Odyssey reissues is warm, rich, more dynamic, and more atmospheric to my ears.  The CBS engineers must've remastered this set, given the somewhat peculiar and inconvenient way they decided to spread these four symphonies across 6 sides.  For $3, though, I am not complaining.