Although the CSO didn't make it to Europe until the 1970's, they did travel occasionally to New York from the end of WW I onwards. Their founder, Theodore Thomas, had first established himself in NYC before heading west. (Thomas himself died in late 1904.)
There is an interesting story about Artur Rodzinski during his short tenure in '49 or '50.
He was a strange bird. He'd heard a lot of stories about Chicago, and he would carriy a loaded revolver with him to Orchestra Hall; during rehearsals, I think all the way to the podium.
How does that make him strange?