Clevelanders Abroad

The customary charge against U.S. musicians in Europe is that they play with exquisite precision but no passion. Last week, on the first lap of their seven-week European tour, the 108 men of the Cleveland Orchestra, led by Budapest-born Conductor George Szell, 59, were playing to different notices. The opening concert in Antwerp (including Berlioz' Roman Carnival overture, Schumann's Fourth Symphony and Paul Creston's Dance Overture was, said a critic, the "most beautiful'' the city had ever heard. Said Gazet van Antwerpen: "One of the greatest existing orchestras. [It] absolutely lacked the cruel perfection which too often seems inevitable for American musicians."

The reaction was equally favorable at the orchestra's next one-night stands--Brussels and Bremen. In London, after only an hour's rehearsal with its soloist, gifted young Pianist Leon Fleisher (TIME, June 9, 1952), the orchestra sounded patchier, but was still good enough to impress the Times, at least, with the "golden warmth" of its tone. "The orchestra can now hold its own," added the Times, "with any of the great orchestras of America." Said one young enthusiast: "Just think of having an orchestra like this right in the wilds of provincial America."

The Clevelanders are scheduled to play 29 concerts in eleven countries, topping their tour with appearances at the Prague Festival and a swing through Poland. At week's end they took off for Spain, where in Madrid they had obligingly agreed to perform one concert at 11 in the morning to allow the populace time to get to the bullfights in the afternoon.

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