Szell, George. (1897–1970)
Personal Visiting Card
The original printed visiting card "Georg Széll" of the great conductor. Toned, paper clip impressions, else fine. 2-3/8” x 3-3/4”.Szell was born in Budapest but grew up in Vienna. At the age of eleven, Szell began touring Europe as a pianist and composer, making his London debut at that age. Newspapers declared him "the next Mozart." Throughout his teenage years he performed with orchestras in this dual role, eventually making appearances as composer, pianist and conductor, as he did with the Berlin Philharmonic at age seventeen. In 1915, at the age of 18, Szell won an appointment with Berlin's Royal Court Opera (now known as the Staatsoper). There, he was befriended by its Music Director, Richard Strauss. Strauss instantly recognized Szell's talent and was particularly impressed with how well the teenager conducted Strauss's music. The two remained friends after Szell left the Royal Court Opera in 1919. In the fifteen years during and after World War I Szell worked with opera houses and orchestras in Europe: in Berlin, Strasbourg — where he succeeded Otto Klemperer at the Municipal Theatre — Prague, Darmstadt, and Düsseldorf, before becoming principal conductor, in 1924, of the Berlin Staatsoper, which had replaced the Royal Opera. In 1942 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut; he conducted the company regularly for the next four years. In 1943 he made his New York Philharmonic debut. In 1946 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1946, Szell was asked to become the Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra, beginning what would become the longest tenur of his musical life and that for which he is justly remembered as one of the most important conductors of the 20th Century. (14189)
Classical Music Ephemera