George (originally “Georg”) Szell was born in Budapest, Hungary and grew up in Vienna, Austria. His music teachers included Mandyczewski, who had been a friend of Brahms, and Max Reger who taught him composition. He was an excellent pianist and was only 11 when he first performed in public, playing one of his own compositions. He started touring Europe. He was only 16 when he conducted the orchestra of the Vienna Court Opera (now the Vienna Philharmonic) and 17 when he appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, both as pianist and conducting his own music.