Orchestra and opera conductor George Szell was known not only for his prolific career and innovations, but also for his tempestuous personality.
Referred to, even in his obituary, as a “tyrant of the baton,” Szell, was also a very influential mentor and teacher.
In this 1966 video from The Bell Telephone Hour, George Szell works with conductors Stephen Foreman, James Levine and Michael Charry (author of George Szell: A Life of Music).
This and other video and audio are linked in Terry Ponick’s extensive review of Charry’s book George Szell, in The Washington Times. Ponick calls the book “an eminently readable biography.”