George Szell

 

 

A story related to me by Gennady Rozhdestvensky about George Szell conducting the Leningrad Phil between the wars. There was a principal 'cellist called Brick who specialised in asking conductors questions to which there was no answer. He started asking Szell such questions in a rehearsal and Szell immediately realised what was going on so he called for a break and sent for Brick.

Brick came to his room - a connoiseeur of such situations. Szell asked him if he knew how many string quartets Haydn had written. Brick guessed something like 80 but Szell told him it was 83. He asked him to select one of the string quartets. Brick wasn't sure what he meant so Szel said just choose a number between 1 and 83. So Brick - somewhat mystified - said 56. Szell then asked him to choose a movement of Haydn's 56th String Quartet and so Brik said 3rd movement. Szell then said 'choose an insrument' so being a 'cellist, Brick said ''cello'. Szell went over to the piano and played the'cello part of Haydn's 56th String Quartet, 3rd movement. Brick left with his tail between his legs so to speak.