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George Szell Contract

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Title	George Szell Contract
Subject	Arts and Entertainment Cleveland Orchestra Conductors Orchestras
Place	Cleveland (Ohio) Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
Description	This is the letter of contract and two addenda for George Szell, fourth music director of The Cleveland Orchestra. The documents number four pages and measure 8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm). The 1946 contract clearly documents Szell's pre-condition for considering the appointment--namely that he have complete control over all artistic matters and be able to enlarge the string section. Only then, Szell maintained, could he make The Cleveland Orchestra "second to none." Although this contract was signed by Szell and Musical Arts Association president Thomas Sidlo on January 15, 1946, the Association did not publicly announce the appointment until nine days later on January 24, after consultation with Szell's manager, Arthur Judson. The two addenda clarify Szell's title and his power to make orchestra personnel changes. George Szell (1897-1970) was born in Budapest, Hungary. His conducting career began in 1913, and he directed some of Europe's most prestigious opera houses including the Berlin State Opera and the German Opera House in Prague. Szell guest conducted regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York before becoming The Cleveland Orchestra's fourth music director in 1946. He held this post until his death in July 1970. The Cleveland Orchestra, along with Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, is acknowledged as one of the "Big Five" American symphony orchestras. Its first concert was a benefit for St. Ann's Parish (in Cleveland Heights) at Grays Armory on December 11, 1918. Adella Prentiss Hughes and the Musical Arts Association recruited Nikolai Sokoloff as conductor. A substantial gift from Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance enabled the Association to build its permanent home in University Circle, five miles east of downtown Cleveland. Severance Hall opened in February 1931. At the end of its 50th season in July 1968, the Orchestra inaugurated its summer home, Blossom Music Center, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. In 1992 the Orchestra became the first American orchestra to establish a residency at Austria's Salzburg Festival. After a two-year, $36.7 million renovation and restoration project, The Cleveland Orchestra reopened Severance Hall in January 2000. The Orchestra's seventh music director, Franz Welser-Moest, began his tenure in September 2002.
Creator	Cleveland Orchestra
Date of Original	1946
Source	Unpublished material (archives/manuscripts) Box #GE-23
Submitting Institution	Cleveland Orchestra [The]
Type	Text
Format	manuscripts

Title	Om1738_1744429_003
Rights	For rights and reproduction requests, go to the Ohio Historical Society's Audiovisual and Graphic Reproduction Services page at http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/audiovis/photodup.html; Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
File Name	Om1738_1744429_003.tif
Image Height	3186
Image Width	2508
File Size	2687.214 KB

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George Szell Contract

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