George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra: "One Man's Triumph" (DVD)

This 1966 program from the archives of the Bell Telephone Hour series profiles Szell and his relationship with the Cleveland Orchestra. Among the highlights are segments showing Szell rehearsing the Orchestra in works of Brahms (Academic Festival Overture), Berg (Violin Concerto, with the Orchestra’s concertmaster, Rafael Druian, as soloist), and Beethoven (Symphony No. 5). In another segment, Szell coaches three “apprentice conductors”, among them a young James Levine at the threshold of his illustrious conducting career. The program ends jubilantly with footage of Szell and the Orchestra in actual performance, playing the final movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Color, 55 minutes, 4:3, All regions