Szell Conducts Russian Music

George Szell and The Cleveland Orchestra bring precision, power, and vivid orchestral colour to a compelling programme of Russian favourites. Tchaikovsky’s brilliant Capriccio Italien is joined by Borodin’s energetic Polovetsian Dances, Rimsky-Korsakov’s dazzling Capriccio Espagnol, and Mussorgsky’s atmospheric Dawn on the Moskva River. Szell’s disciplined conducting and the Cleveland Orchestra’s renowned clarity reveal the distinctive character of each work. George Szell was celebrated for his exacting standards, structural command, and ability to reveal a score with exceptional transparency. During his long tenure as music director, he transformed The Cleveland Orchestra into an ensemble renowned for precision, balance, and refinement. In this colourful late-Romantic Russian repertoire, Szell combines rhythmic discipline with dramatic intensity, allowing the music’s bold melodies, intricate textures, and brilliant orchestration to emerge with remarkable clarity. Artist(s): Conductor – George Szell Orchestra – The Cleveland Orchestra Recording Info: Recorded February and March 1958 Venues: Severance Hall and Masonic Temple Auditorium (Cleveland, Ohio) Sourced from a 4-track tape Components used for Transfer: This transfer leverages precision analogue playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with an extensively modified Nagra 4SJ Reel-to-Reel with Flux Heads, fed through a Custom Tape Pre-amp designed by Victor Khomenko of Balanced Audio Technology for accurate NAB equalisation. The analogue signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo dedicated linear power supply synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain. 1 Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 14:49 2 Borodin Polovetsian Dances from "Prince Igor" 10:41 3 Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 15:04 4 Mussorgsky Dawn on the Moskva River from "Khovantchina" (Prelude to Act I) 5:00 Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing. DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects Play Sample Tracks