These two reissues are linked by virtue of the fact that while both conductors made recordings in Europe (represented in these sets), their main fame was achieved in America.

Polish conductor Artur Rodziński (1892–1958) was in charge of the New York Philharmonic after the demise of Dmitri Mitropolous until the advent of Leonard Bernstein, while the Hungarian George Szell (1897–1970) ran the Cleveland Orchestra with an iron hand from 1946 until his death.

Both were old-world, no-nonsense martinets. Szell was a fastidious perfectionist and exacting taskmaster, and Rodziński famously established his authority by bringing a loaded gun to rehearsals and placing it on the podium. (How to Instil Confidence, Lesson 1.)

Their behaviour wouldn’t fly today, but it certainly achieved results. Listen, for example, to Szell’s recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and how well he shapes the solo oboe’s ‘interruption’ in the first movement, and how carefully the orchestra creeps back in and builds up the lost momentum. It’s an example of perfect timing. Or listen to the tight ensemble of the scurrying pianissimo strings at the opening of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture—both with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Szell: A must for iconic Sibelius, Brahms, and Mendelssohn

The bulk of Szell’s recordings were made...