The Olympic bronze medalists from Germany scored a total of 206.20 points after a free skate routine to the "Pink Panther" theme, during which Savchenko erred by coming out early from a spin move.
Defending champions Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia scored well with a more subtle program set to piano music by Debussy, but were edged by less than three points.
"It's been the longest 5 minutes of my life," Szolkowy said, after watching Kavaguti and Smirnov fall just short with an impressive routine.
Another Russian pair, Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov, earned bronze for their first major medal.
Savchenko and Szolkowy swept the world and European titles in 2008 and '09 but went through the Olympic season without taking gold at a major championship. They led after the short program on Wednesday.
Savchenko said she was surprised at her big mistake halfway through the routine.
"It was a completely new situation for me," she said. "I thought, 'Should I stand still or continue to spin?' The important thing is to continue the program."
Smirnov said the silver medalists were happy with their performance.
"I think we have a nice program this year and, hopefully, before the world championships it will become more beautiful," he said through a translator.
Savchenko and Szolkowy can expect an even stronger Russian challenge at the worlds in Tokyo in March.
Russia's new national pairs champions, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, will then be eligible to compete internationally once she completes a one-year exclusion for switching from her native Ukraine after the Olympics.
Earlier, Florent Amodio shone on his Europeans debut to lead after the men's short program.
The Frenchman scored 78.11 points for an artistic routine set to music from the film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
"I'm very satisfied with my performance. But I won't get carried away and I need to stay focused," said Amodio, who landed a clean triple lutz-triple toeloop combination.
Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic was second on 76.13 after missing the Grand Prix season to recover from abdominal surgery.
"I really just want to show that I got back into the mood I was in last year," Brezina said.
Russian teenager Artur Gachinski sat third on 73.76. He landed a quad toeloop-double toeloop early in a routine set to music from Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album.
Gachinski showed glimpses of why he's seen by many, at 17, as an eventual successor to 2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko. Both are coached in St. Petersburg by Alexei Mishin.
The three leaders represent a potential youthful takeover of the podium.
Amodio said he anticipated a "good battle" in Saturday's free skate with more experienced rivals such as Kevin van der Perren of Belgium, who was fourth, and 2008 European champion Tomas Verner in fifth.
Three-time champion Brian Joubert of France placed seventh as he seeks a European medal for the 10th straight year. He bloodied his left palm on the ice when failing to land a triple lutz.
The championships continue on Friday with the women's opening short program and the ice dancers' free dance to decide the medals.
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