Concerning orchestral transparency, it is difficult to surpass George Szell and his Cleveland Orchestra. Yes, it was his orchestra. Almost 20 years after he died, his name was still lauded in reviews of the Cleveland players.

I will never forget the first time I heard Szell’s recording of Siegfried's Funeral March. At the climactic moment when the brass traditionally swells and swallows the rest of the orchestra, I could still hear the strings pulsing beneath the brass. It took my breath away.

Szell was born in Budapest but his family soon moved to Vienna, where he grew up. Are we starting to see a pattern here? Mahler, Bruno Walter, Horenstein, and Szell all had strong connections to Vienna.

As with Toscanini and many others, Szell immigrated to the United States at the start of World War II.

In 1946, Szell took the position with Cleveland and kept it until his death in 1970. Szell was more than a dictator in Cleveland, he was the son of heaven. If he heard an orchestra member playing carelessly in rehearsal, he would fire the player on the spot. Unions weren’t as tough back then.

One criticism of the Cleveland sound was that is was over rehearsed and lacked spontaneity. Szell accepted the criticism as justified but claimed he didn’t think disorderliness was included in great artistry.

He also conceded that many of the orchestra’s best performances occurred during rehearsals.

What Szell accomplished in Cleveland was significant. He took a small market orchestra and raised it to a world class orchestra. Cleveland eventually replaced Toscanini’s NBC Symphony Orchestra in the “big five” of American Orchestras.

The moment of transparency occurs at the 4:40 mark of this clip. Listen for the pulsing strings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uka8ykFDw2U

This recording of the Vienna Philharmonic playing the same music lacks the transparency of the Cleveland performance. Pay attention at the 2:55 mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOiKy6sXfM