NPR’s Deceptive Cadence classical music blog highlights Michael Charry’s new book George Szell: A Life of Music on Szell’s 114th birthday.

“Szell’s position as music director in Cleveland was both long and fruitful. It’s a combination we don’t see so often these days when most conductors juggle two or even three orchestra jobs at once. Gustavo Dudamel, for example, leads not only the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but also the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra in his native Venezuela and the Gothenburg Symphony of Sweden. That makes it more difficult to place one’s personal stamp on an ensemble. It’s not surprising that critics today complain about the homogenous sound of orchestras the world over.”