Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op.81/Symphony No.2

On this CD:

1. Tragic Overture, in D minor, Op. 81
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Karl Anton Rickenbacher

2. Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Karl Anton Rickenbacher

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: I. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: II. Adante sostenuto
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: IV. Adagio - Piu adante - Allegro non troppo ma con brio

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro non troppo
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: II. Adagio non troppo
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) - Presto ma non assai
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con Spirito
Tragic Overture, Op. 81

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: I. Allegro con brio - Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: II. Andante - Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: III. Poco allegretto - Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: IV. Allegro - Johannes Brahms
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 - Johannes Brahms

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: I. Allegro non troppo
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: II. Andante moderato
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: III. Allegro giocoso
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: IV. Allegro energico e passionato

Customer Reviews:

Good but not memorable for me.......2007-05-17

I purchased this cycle with eager anticipation but was frankly disappointed when I opened up the set and popped it in my stereo. I love the CSO/Solti sound (esp the brass section) as much as anybody but I am disappointed with the energy, balance, and precision of entrances and note lengths. If you want a great set, buy the HSO/Eschenbach!

Brahms symphonies.......2006-11-07

I'll make this simple. If your interested in a great set of the four Brahms symphonies pick this up immediately. Great sound(late analogue warmth), terrific performances(Solti and Chicago are sturdy as always), and an extremely low price.

This set has several distinct advantages over some of the others out there. For starters each symphony occupies its own cd. Sounds simple enough but I'm quickly tiring of sets that split up symphonies under 80 minutes long just to pack each cd to the brink. Nothing's worse than having a complete symphony and half of another on one cd and the other half of the second symphony on disc number 2. No sense switching discs to listen to one work unless that work is over 80 mintues long(ie- Mahler). I'm also getting sick of sets that couple insequential symphonies together to fill up discs(ie- symphonies number 1 and 4 on one disc). I like to listen in sequential order.

This set allows that. One symphony per disc. Discs two and three each have an overture to fill up some time and that's fine since both are after the symphony. How about Abbado and others putting these overtures and other 'bonus' works _before_ the main attraction? What's that about?

I mentioned it early but the price issue is also huge. Sure, you could buy Abbado's Berlin set which is great but be ready to shell out over $120(!) on Amazon. You'll get a couple of additional short works with that set but come on. Is it worth another $100 or so? Your call but I'd say no way.
Pick this up for around $20 and be assured that your getting quality Brahms at a great price.

sloppy.......2006-02-28

It's sloppy. Interpretation not well thought through. Solti is a well known name, but I wasn't impressed. It sounds uninspired. Check out a different set of the Brahms' symphonies.

One of Solti's better recordings in Chicago.......2005-10-14

This Brahms Symphonies set with Sir Georg Solti/Chicago Symphony is one of Solti's better recordings in Chicago. Recorded in 1979, just before the Digital age and technology took over, these are beautiful, smooth and creamy recordings with rich bass and nice mid range. Solti is intense but never driven, and he knows just how much intensity to put into Brahms without over-driving him and making the music become melodramatic or vulgar. The sound London's engineers got in these recordings is better than for the Solti/Chicago Beethoven Symphonies recorded earlier that decade, 1972-74.

The Chicago Symphony under Solti was "HOT" in recording sales during the 1970s. I was in college from 1977-81, and all the brass and woodwind players raved about Chicago's recordings of Strauss, Mahler, and other composers which were currently being released. I especially recall a flute player who was estatic because she received three Solti/Chicago LPs for Christmas gifts one year. The brass and woodwinds are often emphasized in many Solti/Chicago recordings, with the strings less prominent than some orchestras; but here the balance is very equal where needed, and the brass do yeoman service in the passages most needed, such as the running figures at the end of Symphony 2:IV.

Solti does take alot of repeats, especially in Symphony 2:I, which makes this movement several minutes longer than most recordings. And he isn't afraid to take his time - tempos aren't too fast, and never feel driven: not always the case in a Solti recording. I of Symphony 1 and Symphony 3 also have repeats, thus making these movements longer than in recordings of Bruno Walter or George Szell.

The companion works, Academic Festival Overture and Tragic Overture are also excellent in every way, recalling Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony (Sony), who recorded these works in stereo 20 years before Solti/Chicago.

Very good.......2005-03-18

This is the Brahms Symphonies set to get. Every performance is great, and the sound is pretty high quality. I do not notice any problems with the acoustics. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

great series

The Story Of Brahms

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001KDB
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 83: Allegro appassionato
Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 83: Rondo
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Adagio non troppo
Serenade, Op. 106: No. 1
Violin Concerto in D Major. Op. 77: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Allegro con spirito
Capriccio in B Minor, Op. 76: No. 2
Hungarian Dance No. 6 in D-flat Major
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: Andante sostenuto
Piano Concerto No. 1 In D Minor, Op. 15: Maestoso
Lullaby, Op. 49: No. 4
Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G Minor
Variations On A Theme By Paganini, Op. 35: Book II
Rinaldo, Op. 50
Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. 39: No. 15
Love Song Waltzes, Op. 52: No. 1
Hungarian Dance No. 5 in F-sharp Major
Variations on a Theme by Haydn: Op. 56a
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: Excerpts
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Allegro non troppo
Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 77: Op. 77
Academic Festival Overture: Op. 80
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major: Allegro non troppo
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro
Clarinet Quintet In B Minor, Op. 115: Allegro
Tragic Overture: Op. 81
Academic Festival Overture: Op. 80
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 1 in G Minor
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 2 in F Major
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 10 in E Major
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 5 in F-sharp Major
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 6 in D-flat Major
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 7 in A Major
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 17 in F-sharp Minor
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 19 in B Minor
9 Hungarian Dances: No. 21 in E Minor

Customer Reviews:

great series.......2007-01-10

This CD along with the others in the series is very good. So far we have collected about ten different ones. They are thorough and interesting. I homeschool and it has been a great additon to our teaching materials and tools. The narrarated history format interspersed with the composer's music is key to keeping the interest of the children. A must-have for introducing classical music with historical background to your kids and at a great price on Amazon!

EMI Great Recordings of Century - Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4/Klemperer

Average customer rating:

no kidding
Not sure what all the fuss is about.
Five stars +
Karajan or Klemperer in Brahms?
My deserted island pick

EMI Great Recordings of Century - Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4/Klemperer
Johannes Brahms , Philharmonia Orchestra , Christa Ludwig , Philharmonia Chorus , and Otto Klemperer
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Furtwangler Conducts Brahms - Complete Symphonies, etc / North German RSO, Berlin PO
Leon Fleisher Plays Brahms

ASIN: B0001O3Y8A
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

Thema: Chorale St. Antoni
Variation I (Poco Piu Animato)
Variation II (Piu Vivace)
Variation III (Con Moto)
Variation IV (Andante Con Moto)
Variation V (Vivace)
Variation VI (Vivace)
Variation VII ( Grazioso)
Variation VIII (Presto Non Troppo)
Finale (Andante)
I: Un Poco Sostenuto - Allegro
II: Andante Sostenuto
III: Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
IV: Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro Non Troppo Ma Con Brio

Tracks:

I: Allegro Non Troppo
II: Adagio Non Troppo
III: Allegretto Grazioso (Quasi Andantino) - Presto Ma Non Assai
IV: Allegro Con Spirito
I: Allegro Con Brio - Un Poco Sostenuto
II: Andante
III: Poco Allegretto
IV: Allegro - Un Poco Sostenuto

Tracks:

Academic Festival Overture Op. 80
Tragic Overture Op. 81
Alto Rhapsody Op. 53
I: Allegro Non Troppo
II: Andante Moderato
III: Allegro Giocoso - Poco Meno Presto
IV: Allegro Energico E Passionato - Piu Allegro

Customer Reviews:

no kidding.......2007-07-06

this IS the best brahms set in the market. honesly, as much as i love klemperer, i was pretty surprised by the amount of tension he managed to retain throughout this studio recording - something the greatest conductors often couldn't do.
To me, and i do not seem to be alone in this regard, the gem of the set is the fourth symphony. It is here that Klemperer simply out does Celibidache, Toscanini, and Furtwangler. The passacaglia is imbued with a sense of inevitability - i was completely taken aback by the impact of the climax. The relationship between the variations was so perfectly thought out that after this recording every other passacaglia seems inconsequential. Furtwangler might have imbued each passage with more fire, but even his profound insight is cursory compared to what Klemperer manages to convey.
Klemperer's supreme sense of architecture and drama also churns out an inimitable Academic Overture, which is also simply the most stunning and satisfying account I have ever heard. While in the beginning the orchestra might not seem completely synchronized, such misgivings are done away with by the time the last theme, the climax, is performed.
the rest are also similarly great, although owing the Furtwangler, Klemperer's first symphony doesn't top the rest of the competition like the other symphonies do.
there are a few records out there that i would call definitive - but this brahms set is the closest ever.

Not sure what all the fuss is about........2006-09-15

For me this set of Brahms is ho-hum. It is average, but nothing special. I feel the same way about Herbert von Kajaran's interpretation of Brahms. Brahms is without a doubt my favorite composer and I have heard many versions of his symphonies. For my tastes, the London Philharmonic's sound has always been too thin for Brahms. The only time I liked the London Philharmonic performing Brahms was Antal Dorati's set on Mercury Living Presence.
I prefer the rich and warm sound of the Berlin Philharmonic. The set of symphonies that Claudio Abbado released on DG in the 1990's has taken top honors for me. Most of the previous traversals with the Berliners (i.e. von Karajan) have taken the tempos too slow for my tastes.
As far as I'm concerned you can do much better elsewhere: Abbado, Szell, and Dorati - heck even Bruno Walter's set with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra is better than this presentation.

Five stars +.......2005-11-14

Klemperer is one of my favourites, probably because I got to know Mahler through him. For me this is the best Brahms symphonies cycle yet. The tempos are well judged as always and the Philharmonia at top form as always under Klemperer. I feel that the 4th is the gem of this cycle unsurpassed in every aspect. Along with the German Requiem again with Klempeper and the Philharmonia I find these CDs the best Brahms orchestral music on the market.

Karajan or Klemperer in Brahms?.......2005-09-29

Otto Klempeerer owes his late career in London and on EMI records to von Karajan. Since its founding in 1949, the Philharmonia Orch. was closely allied with Karajan, who built it up as his own career took off after the war. But when Furtwangler died in 1954 and his arch-rvial Karajan took over the Berlin Phil., the impressario of the Philharmonia, Walter Legge, knew that he neeeded a new stellar conductor or his orchestra would fail. He chose Klemperer, then almost forgotten and already past 65 when he made his initial appearances in London in 1951.

Legge's gamble paid off. Klemperer became the darling of London critics and audiences, and his performance style--measured, serious, with impeccable integrity--became the standard in Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and Brahms. He cared little for beauty of osund, smooth phrasing, or stylistic refinement. Words like "granitic" and "primordial" were used regularly.

Is he the antithesis of Karajan, who valued everything that Klemperer disdained? Listening to these Brahms symphony recordings in improved sound, I think the Klemperer vs. Karajan debate isn't all that valid. These four symphonies aren't granitic or primordial, nor are they particularly slow. In fact, the first movement of the Second moves lightly, as does the finale of the Fourth. If anything, Karajan's presentation is more massive and imposing in every symphony. The main difference begins with Klemperer's steady pace, which he tends to hold without allowing the phrase to be molded as flexibly as Karajan.

Karajan made two complete Brahms cycles for DG, the latter in digital sound. He was undoubtedly a great Brahms conductor, but so was Klemperer. Here the Philharmonia sounds sharp and alert and not very big in number, while Karajan's Berlin forces sound sumptuous and huge.

These two giants had no peer in Brahms from the death of Toscanini to the present day, excepting occasional recordings by Giulini, Bernstein, and perhaps in today's market, Harnoncourt. Some would also rank bruno Walter's two Brahms cycles at this exalted level, but for me only the mono one with the NY Phil., now available on a Sony import, qualifies, and besides the inadequate sonics, the orchestra does not play as beautifully as what we hear in this set. It's great to have Klemperer's classic set, which is totally free of eccentricity, back in such good sound. Five stars without a doubt.

My deserted island pick.......2005-06-20

If I had to go to that deserted island, I would be in doubt of which of these 3 CDs to take with me. I have perhaps 500 classical CDs, but this box stands out. I am not going to write very much, however: Brahms is my favourite composer. Brahms was Klemperer's favourite composer. His conducting is perfect all the way. These are so-called slow interpretations, i.e. compared to Toscanini and Walter, but not slow compared to, say Abbado; I think these tempos are perfectly suited to bring out the richness of the texture. The result I will describe as civilized, human, warm, even hot, dramatic, strictly to the point, even sharp, although there are sharper interpretations out there, but they don't got the same lyrical intensity as Klemperer's.

Leonard Bernstein Conducts Brahms (Collectors Edition)

Average customer rating:

Brahms Symphony No. 3
Great Performances, Okay Sound, Great Selections!
Bernstein's Riveting Brahms Symphonies and more with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Leonard Bernstein Conducts Brahms (Collectors Edition)

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0001WGDXA
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

Brahms Symphony No. 3.......2007-07-23

I just heard the third movement on Internet radio and it is just about perfect. No tempo issues, lines flowing smoothly from instrument to instrument. It's the most expressive I've ever heard. Just heartbreakingly beautiful.

I'm buying it today. This is the Brahms interpretation I want my kids to grow up listening to.

Great Performances, Okay Sound, Great Selections!.......2006-07-28

Brahms has always been one of my favourite composers and Bernstein and the Vienna PO have done an excellent interpretation of all his Symphonies and especially of the Violin and Double Concerti. The sound quality for a live recording is also quite okay and this is especially so of the last disc which contains the Concerti.

The packaging of a cardboard box which holds the paper sleeves which house the 5 discs is also nice to behold. You also get a nice 16-page booklet with an essay on Brahms written by Bernstein himself.

I was amused to also discover that when it comes to Brahms' symphonies, it appears the 3rd movements are charms when it comes to "borrowing" the melodies for pop/rock tunes too. The progressive rock band, Yes, have openly used the 3rd movement of the 4th one as one of the tracks on their wildly successful album, "Fragile" while if you listen closely to the one from the 3rd Symphony, you'll realise that Santana totally ripped off the melody for the second track on his "Supernatural" album, "Love of My Life" with Dave Matthews. At least Yes had the decency to give the credit to Brahms when they did it though.

This box set though comes highly recommended.

Bernstein's Riveting Brahms Symphonies and more with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.......2005-09-09

Leonard Bernstein has been praised and condemned by musical critics who have examined his unique, distinctive style of conducting. Along with Herbert von Karajan, Bernstein was probably among the two finest music directors of his generation; critics have thoroughly compared and contrasted Bernstein's emotional approach with Karajan's stern, almost business-like approach to conducting. Regardless of whether or not you may love Bernstein's style of conducting, he is still revered and loved by his harshest critics, the musicians who enjoyed playing for him as members of some of the world's greatest symphony orchestras. For example, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the Vienna Philharmonic's concertmasters last March here in New York City, hearing his lavish praise of Bernstein as both a musician and person. He still regarded Bernstein as one of his favorite conductors, viewing their concerts as among the highlights in his own noteworthy career as solo violinist and concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

The enthusiasm and admiration which the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra had for its favorite American conductor is present in this splendid Deutsche Grammophon collection which has been compiled recently from the original digital recordings made during live concerts held in the early 1980s. Among these are one of my favorite recordings of the Brahms 2nd Symphony, which is a lush, lovely reading of Brahms' most pastoral symphony, and a valid interpretation inspite of Bernstein's tendency for slower tempi. Similarly, the other three symphony recordings are splendid in their own right, with the brooding 1st Symphony a mesmerizing, exciting performance. I strongly recomend this CD collection as a fine example of Bernstein still conducting at the height of his artistic powers, demonstrating the excellent collaboration between the conductor and his favorite European orchestra. Without question, this remains one of the best Brahms symphony cycles available to discerning collectors and novices of classical music alike.

Average customer rating:

Not good, not bad, just generic
Beautiful orchestra, but Muti conducts from an easy chair
Muti delivers
Bargain Brahms from a Great Brahms Orchestra

Brahms: Complete Symphonies
Brahms , Philadelphia Orchestra , and Riccardo Muti
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Beethoven: Complete Symphonies

ASIN: B000065TV5
Release Date: 2002-06-11

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68: Un Poco Sostenuto - Allegro - Mano Allegro
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 63: Andante Sostenuto
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 63: Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 63: Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Brio
Variations For Orchestra In B Flat Major On A Theme By Joseph Haydn Op. 56A

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Allegro Non Troppo
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Aagio Non Troppo - L'Istesso Tempo, Ma Grazioso
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Allegretto Grazioso (Quasi Andantino) - Presto Ma Non Assai - Tempo 1
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 73: Allegro Con Spirito
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Tragic Overture, Op. 81

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro Con Brio
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Andante
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Poco Allegretto
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro Non Troppo
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Andante Moderato
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro Giocoso - Poco Meno Presto - Tempo 1
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro Energico E Pissionato - Piu Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Not good, not bad, just generic.......2007-07-02

I concur with Santa Fe Listener on this one...this is classic Muti, preferring not to take any chances, remaining true to his belief that the composer, rather than the conductor, should do the talking. While his performances don't have the same creepily synthetic quality of later Karajan, nonetheless it has the generic, all-the-notes-in-right-place flavor which makes it all too easy to forget after a short time.

As a cycle, it is nicely affordable & certainly doesn't run roughshod over the music, so it at least has got that going for it. I guess it would a good starter set for the novice, but for anyone already familiar with these symphonies, there are far better sets (my own personal preference is Walter) from which to choose.

Beautiful orchestra, but Muti conducts from an easy chair.......2006-11-26

Listeners form their own allegiances, but I'm shockeed that early reviewers think that Muti has made a first-rate Brahms cycle. It's certainly true that the Philadelphia Orch. sounds gorgeous, but Muti never asks them to stretch. Every single movement is taken at a comfortable pace with underplayed solos and not the slightest hint of real struggle or tension. This is Brahms relegated to assisted living. There are other conductors who take a plush-velvet approach to the Brahms symphonies (Sawallisch and the aging Barbirolli), but without inner drama, these readings get boring veyr fast. Even the push-and-pul of Jochum is preerable. As to the truly great Brahmsians of the stereo era, I will stick with late Walter, Bernstein, Karajan, and when I am in the mood, the ever-tantalizing, ever-frustrating Celibadache.

Muti delivers.......2004-05-22

Muti's recordings of the Brahms symphonies are powerful and sweeping, with good detail and a realistic acoustic. Muti provides his usual (and wonderful) lyricism, which fits most of the pieces very well.

Karajan's First Symphony on DG is more darkly dramatic than Muti's is here (if you like drama -- and drama works for the First -- you might consider Karajan). Muti's performance is anything but slack, however. And Muti gets a better sound than Karajan does from the engineers; Muti's recording is more natural, with nice, open imaging.

For me, Muti's Fourth is bested only by Kleiber's classic interpretation on DG. Kleiber doesn't dip as far into the emotional possibilities of the work as Muti, maybe, but that isn't Kleiber's goal. His Brahms is more classical than Muti's, more Appollonian, and only Kleiber solves all of the Fourth's problems with his extraordinary panache and grace, IMHO. Still, I enjoy Muti's version very much, and if it were my only version I'd be mighty happy with it.

Overall, if you want a very good collection of all four symphonies, Muti and the Philadelphians won't disappoint.

Nutshell: Committed performances and digital sound coupled with a midline price. Very fine.

Bargain Brahms from a Great Brahms Orchestra.......2003-11-13

When this set first came out in the early 90s, I bought the recording of the Second Symphony, which critics thought the strongest of the set. In deference to their judgment I avoided the rest of the recordings until now. I'd always thought the Muti Second a strong one without being absolutely first class, but now, heard in the company of other three symphonies and the Haydn Variations, it emerges even stronger in my estimation. Whereas Ormandy tended to wallow a bit in Brahms, Muti's approach is characteristically leaner without being in the least meaner. In fact, the ripe nostalgia of the Third Symphony, probably nobody's favorite Brahms, comes across wonderfully, as does the high drama of the Fourth, especially given Philips' burnished but impactive sound-those marvelous trombones in the finale! and trumpets and drums in the scherzo! (Not to mention the famous "auto horn" cadence from the Second Symphony finale!) The beauty of the string-and-wind playing is a given with this orchestra. But I think I've never fully appreciated the loveliness of Brahms's writing for woodwinds before hearing this set.

Luckily, though (for example) the Tragic Overture moves along at quite a clip in the faster sections--all the better for it, too, since dawdlin' in this work tends to make it sound maudlin--Muti isn't the juggernaut he often is, glossing over the subtleties along the way. This happens to some extent in his Beethoven, but he really lets Brahms breathe. A case in point is the First Symphony. I thought Muti's reading a bit too static, a bit too granitic on first hearing. But as I've lived with the performance, I've come to believe that Muti fully captures the Olympian grandeur of this best of all first symphonies, as British music critic Bernard Jacobson calls it in his notes to the recording.

Tracks:

Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68: I. Un Poco Sostenuto - Allegro
Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68: II. Andante Sostenuto
Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68: III. Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
Symphony No.1 In C Minor, Op.68: IV. Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Brio
Academic Festival Overture, Op.80

Tracks:

Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op.73: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op.73: II. Adagio Non Troppo
Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op.73: III. Allegretto Grazioso (Quasi Andantino) - Presto Ma Non Troppo
Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op.73: IV. Allegro Con Spirito
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: Chorale (St. Antoni)
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: I. Poco Piu Animato
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: II. Piu Vivace
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: III. Con Moto
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: IV. Andante Con Moto
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: V. Vivace
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: VI. Vivace
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: VII. Grazioso
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: VIII. Presto Non Troppo
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op.56a: Finale

Tracks:

Symphonie No.3 In F Major, Op.90: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Symphonie No.3 In F Major, Op.90: II. Andante Moderato
Symphonie No.3 In F Major, Op.90: III. Allegro Giocoso
Symphonie No.3 In F Major, Op.90: IV. Allegro Energico E Passionato
Alto Rhapsody, Op.53 - Dunja Vejzovic

Tracks:

Symphony No.4 In E Minor, Op.98: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Symphony No.4 In E Minor, Op.98: II. Andante Moderato
Symphony No.4 In E Minor, Op.98: III. Allegro Giocoso
Symphony No.4 In E Minor, Op.98: IV. Allegro Energico E Passionato
Tragic Overture, Op.81

Customer Reviews:

A jewel in my collection.......2005-11-15

Brahms was the torchbearer of the First Viennese School, holding down tradition's fort in the face of the Liszt/Wagner music of the future. Despite his preference for Classical forms and structure, his temperament was unquestionably Romantic. Brahms resolved these seemingly opposite forces in his music, but realizing Brahms' vision in performance can be elusive. Among the symphony cycles, rarely has Brahms sounded so fully Classical and fully Romantic simultaneously than in this set.

The critical element in Eschenbach's readings is that they are somewhat slower than most, with tempi similar to those of Furtwangler's. This approach allows the thick orchestration to breathe, making it easier to appreciate Brahms' unrivaled mastery of musical architecture. Furthermore, it highlights his imagination while remaining within the confines of the traditional symphonic forms. For the slow movements, it fully showcases Brahms' lyricism that a faster tempo would have glossed over.

I did find the first movement of the Fourth to be a little slow, but it was still within the realm of reasonable interpretation. I'm sure it will grow on me as I listen more.

The inclusion of four add-ons is a nice bonus--most Brahms sets include only the Academic Festival and Tragic Overtures. No revelations here, but they are well performed.

Overall, an unbeatable value.

Great Brahms Cycle From An Unexpected Place.......2003-08-29

It's not all the time that it happens, but every once in a while, a symphonic cycle box set made by an orchestra that is not universally seen as a world-class outfit makes an impact. Such is the case here with this cycle of Brahms' four symphonies and various other works performed here by the Houston Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Christoph Eschenbach, who served as Music Director from 1989 to 2001.

This Brahms cycle was made during the early 90s, and shows both Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony in top form. Eschenbach observes the first-movement exposition repeats of the first three symphonies, thus making their running times longer (the opening of No. 1 is almost nineteen minutes; that of No. 2 nearly twenty-two; and that of No. 3 over thirteen and a half), but the quality is never sacrificed. Dunja Vejzovic and the male voices of the Houston Symphony Chorus are excellent on the recording of Brahms' early choral work Alto Rhapsody; and the orchestra does good work on the Haydn Variations, the Academic Festival Overture, and the highly charged Tragic Overture.

Given all of this, it is bewildering that it has only been in recent times that the Houston Symphony has achieved the respect it has long deserved. After all, many big names had stood on the podium before Eschenbach: Beecham, Stokowski, Barbirolli, and Previn. But Eschenbach seemed to break through the orchestra board's long-time ultra-conservative musical mentality, and thus he elevated the Houston Symphony to world-class status. The proof can be found in this superbly recorded and superbly priced Brahms set, which is well worth seeking out.

The best Brahms for the best price!.......2002-09-23

When I saw this inexpensive 4cd box set, I knew that I had to get it, especially after hearing Eschenbach's recording of Bruckner's 6th w/Houston SO (the best ever btw). Some conductors (eg. Karajan) try to take you into different worlds in the different symphonies. However Eschenbach takes you to different places withnin the same world, giving the listener a more organic-whole musical listening experience. The rhythms are sharp, the readings are dark (Brahms was a hard-core loner) and intense. The opening of the first sym. reminds me of Klemperer, so deep and powerful. The stings are flawless and full of support. When one looks at set prices like Abbado's...the eschenbach set is one of the best Brahms bargain sets of all time. The filler pieces are equally strong, as are the singers in the alto rhap. A must have for all Brahmsians!!

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Double Concerto; Serenade No. 2

Average customer rating:

Splendid Brahms Symphony Cycle from Haitink, London Symphony Orchestra

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Double Concerto; Serenade No. 2

Manufacturer: Lso Live UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000A6OC6C
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Customer Reviews:

Splendid Brahms Symphony Cycle from Haitink, London Symphony Orchestra.......2006-05-12

The London Symphony Orchestra's LSO Live label finally offers as a box set acclaimed conductor Bernard Haitink's latest - and third - Brahms symphony cycle (The other two - which are still available - were recorded by Philips with Haitink conducting the Royal Concertgebouw and Boston Symphony orchestras in the 1970s and early 1990s.). Those interested in a fine Brahms symphony cycle by one of our greatest conductors will not be disappointed with this box set, which compiles the individual LSO Live CDs released over the past few years (These were recorded at live concert performances of Haitink conducting the London Symphony Orchestra primarily back in 2003 and 2004.).

Highlights include Haitink's spellbinding interpretations of the four Brahms symphonies and a brilliant performance by concertmaster Gordan Nikolitch and principal cellist Timothy Hugh of the Brahms Double Concerto. The London Symphony Orchestra's performances are absolutely impeccable, rivalling those from preeminent Dutch, German and Austrian orchestras.

Haitink offers a compelling interpretation of Brahms' 1st Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra in excellent form, which ranks as among the best performed and recorded I have heard. His latest interpretation is one which seems a bit less restrained than his earlier versions, but still replete with strict adherence to Brahms' tempi. His latest interpretation is, in some respects, more exciting than his earlier Philips recordings, emphasizing the rich sonorities and complex architecture of Brahms' score.

Without question Haitink's LSO Live recording is the best live recording of the Brahms 2nd Symphony I have heard, easily eclipsing Kurt Masur's acclaimed account with the New York Philharmonic recorded nearly a decade ago by Teldec. It is also Haitink's finest recording of this work, which he has recorded previously with both the Royal Concertgebouw and Boston Symphony orchestras. Haitink does a wonderful job emphasizing the textural richness of Brahms' score, while keeping the orchestra playing well at a very brisk tempo. However, the real treasure on this recording is the excellent performance of the Double Concerto by the London Symphony's Concertmaster and Principal Cellist which opens this CD. Theirs is a vibrant, rhapsodic performance which compares quite well - indeed I think may be better - than the recent Deutsche Grammophon recording featuring violinist Gil Shaham with Claudio Abbado conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Once again the orchestra plays with much intensity and warmth, led ably by Haitink.

Bernard Haitink's LSO Live CD of the Brahms Serenade Number 2 and the 3rd Symphony, is recorded from concerts he conducted in 2002 (serenade) and 2003 (symphony). Brahms' Serenade Number 2 could be regarded as an early precursor to his symphonies, since it is a five-movement work. Haitink leads the London Symphony Orchestra in yet another excellent performance, noted for warm, rhapsodic playing from the string section. However, the best performance on this CD is that of Brahms' Third Symphony. This piece itself is a bit unusual for a 19th Century symphony, in the form of Allegro Andante Poco Allegretto Allegro. In its overall tone, the work itself is a bit "darker" than the Second Symphony, which many have regarded as Brahms' "Pastoral" symphony. Haitink excels in emphasizing the more melancholy aspects of the work, leading the London Symphony Orchestra in the best-conducted and recorded version of this symphony that I've heard so far, with the possible exception of Harnoncourt's Teldec recording with him conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Haitink's latest recording seems a bit darker than Masur's New York Philharmonic Orchestra recording from Teldec, and perhaps, Harnoncourt's as well.

Haitink has conducted the London Symphony in an unusually warm, vibrant performance of the Brahms 4th Symphony, which is replete with excellent solo performances from the french horns, woodwinds and strings. I was especially pleased with Haitink's dignified, but still brooding, interpretation of the 4th movement, which comes across as a musical interlude between darkness and light. I personally regard this recording of the Brahms 4th symphony as the best currently available, in a crowded pack that includes distinguished recordings from the likes of Claudio Abbado, Herbert Blomstedt, Carlos Kleiber, Kurt Masur, and Kurt Sanderling.

Fans of Haitink's critically acclaimed 1970s Brahms symphony cycle may miss the ambient warmth of the Concertgebouw's main concert hall in this Brahms symphony cycle, but I will contend that these new recordings sound more vivid than the earlier Philips recordings. LSO Live is currently releasing Haitink's second Beethoven symphony cycle from live performances he conducted last year; I am eagerly awaiting these, suspecting that they will be regarded as among the finest Beethoven symphony recordings issued in the last few years. Later this year he will be visiting New York City, leading the London Symphony Orchestra in a Beethoven symphony cycle at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Not only do I look forward to this visit, but also to Haitink's future performances at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium as Principal Conductor of the venerable Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Average customer rating:

Vintage performances
One of the great bargains of DG's catalog
Bohm is a master in this Repetoire!!
Classic Brahms symphonies; formidable musicianship
Karl Bohm's Underrated Great Brahms Symphony Cycle

4 Symphonies / Variations
Johannes Brahms , Christa Ludwig , and Karl Bohm
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000069KIZ
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Customer Reviews:

Vintage performances.......2006-09-25

Late analog recordings ARE supposed to be rich and warm! This is an excellent example!

One of the great bargains of DG's catalog.......2005-10-11

Karl Bohm's recording of Brahms Four Symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic (recorded 1975-76) is one of the great bargains of the DG catalog. These are recorded in beautiful analog stereo sound in the Musikvereinsalle, one of the world's great concert halls, and Bohm was in great shape when these were put on tape.
The Vienna Philharmonic could of course play these works in their sleep, having recorded and performed them numerous times under other great conductors since Brahms (1833-1897) was living. Karl Bohm (1894-1981) had ample experience conducting Brahms, having recorded Symphonies 1 and 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1940, and again with Symphonies 1 and 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic for DG, about 1960. There is a famous Bohm/Dresden State Orchestra recording of Brahms Symphony 4 from the late 1930s, reissued in the US on Dutton (but may be deleted now), and a Vox LP (mono) of Brahms 3 by Bohm/Vienna from about 1952.

Bohm's tempos here are slower than some, especially the Allegros, but his sense of forward motion and phrasing do not make them seem overly long or tedious, as is the case with Bernstein's 1983 recordings, with the same orchestra (DG).
Symphony 1 is big and bold, and Bohm is not afraid to slow down for big moments, although he does not jerk tempos around for effect, as do some conductors. Symphony 2 seems more autumnal than some recordings, but is perfect in flow and pacing. Symphonies 3 and 4 sound beautiful, and are again on the moderate to slow side. These are all beautiful recordings, and I have the highest admiration for them.

DG waited a long time to release Karl Bohm's Brahms Symphonies, as they already had cycles by Karajan/Berlin (1978 and 1987-88, 2 different cycles), Bernstein/Vienna (1983) and Abbado/Berlin (early 1990s) in their catalog. But they have done a great job with this presentation, and the dismates: Haydn Variations, Tragic Overture, and Alto Rhapsody with Christa Ludwig, are all first rate and very beautiful.

One apt description for this release would be "think of Bruno Walter with a better orchestra." Since Bohm was Walter's assistant at the Munich opera in the early 1920s - the beginning of his career - this is an appropriate description.

Bohm is a master in this Repetoire!!.......2004-04-01

There is truly something special about the relationship between this conductor and this orchestra...Bohm has always had a special way with this music. Never does he allow technique overshadow the beauty and opulence of this composer's writing. The opening of Symphony No. 4 is breatheless in it's beauty and this sets the mood for the entire interpretation. The Vienna Phil has always sounded great but here it is UNBELIEVEABLE!! Take note of the wonderful way with the shaping of phrases. Never pushy or hard-driven, we have here Brahm's done in a way that is entirely devoid of sentimentality or glossy technique.

No. 1 was done by Bohm years ealier in Berlin and this 70s performance is very fine but with a more mellow cast. The octaves in the opening strings are incredible. The Vienna horns shine magnificently through this interpretation of the C minor unlike any other.

As for symphony No. 2 and 3 they are given incredibly warm and stylish readings. Bohm does not plow over the music with a heavy hand(Szell is too detached)...this is Brahms that is Alive and Majestic. The recorded sound is Excellent!

Classic Brahms symphonies; formidable musicianship.......2003-07-31

Over the years, I have variously been told I would outgrow Brahms, or at least see his music move to the margins of my active repertoire of current musical interests. Fortunately, this has not yet happened to be the case. Instead, I have become ever more fascinated by the music, in which Schoenberg could discern the seeds of his New Music, and for which the dreaded conservative critic of Vienna, Hanslick, was wont to do battle against the tilting windmills of modernity in that turn- of-the-century epoch, especially those dragons of Wagnerism! To understand how such different cliques could have made such disparate, yet passionate use of Brahms as a key exhibit in their culture wars, one only has to listen .... again and again and again. Notoriously self-critical, Johannes made considerable efforts to present and publish only his best efforts in all genres of music. He only wrote four symphonies, but what distances other symphonists have traversed in nine, or more; it seems Brahms could compress into just four. The point of all this is that Brahms is a complicated composer who manages to draw upon much that is old, even traditional; while at the same time he strikes open into new horizons, new vistas, and above all new musics. Mozart is said to have bragged in his letters that his music had something for everyone: popular appeal for the common folk of his day, as well as formal schemes with complications and depths that probably only the highly trained musical cognoscenti would hear. Perhaps something equivalent must be also argued for Brahms' music. Thus, a conductor who succeeds in Brahms is by definition capable of discerning the old and the new, while preserving in passionate reserve the distinctiveness of Brahms's musical speech. The reissue of this set of performances of the Brahms symphonies merits our attention, because Karl Bohm was renowned in his own lifetime for being a prince of Mozartians. Given the evidence in this recorded set, he clearly was also among the most noble, and most notable, of Brahms conductors. Another part of the golden, glowing quality in these performances can only have come from the vaults of that other treasury, the Vienna Philharmonic. Brass, woodwinds, strings .... no one has quite the velvety depths of sound, as well as the mountainous granites of height and power, like the Vienna band. Karl Bohm was alleged to be quite demanding, to get what he wanted out of an orchestra; yet these recordings provide irrefutable proof that both he and the orchestra could be united in musical warmth and intimacy with the challenging demands of Brahms four symphonies. Even a somewhat stiff, foursquare, formally reserved quality that sometimes arises momentarily in these performance, every so slightly apparent in moments of transition in the keys, as the musical narrative shifts and transforms within the musical structure, would itself be quite true to what we know of Brahms as a human being. You find yourself musing that surely Karl Bohm had some of those same, authentically gruff and rough-hewn qualities himself, not too glowing nor too proud or polished to be capable of reminding us in his musical manner that Brahms played piano in the waterfront establishments of Hamburg. Now those musical patrons were neither typically noble-born, nor replete with necessities much beyond those of working-class survival. These recordings are classics, and have merited praise since their first release. Mention must also be made of alto Christa Ludwig's Alto Rhapsody, along with the burnished Viennese sounds of the male chorus that accompanies her. Sorrow, regret, and transcendently spiritualized resignation go hand in hand in her performance of this odd work. Brahms said himself that he believe it to be one of the best things he had ever prayed. Hearing all, surely we agree. Get this set now. With the marketing kids running the show, it can just as easily disappear from the catalogue as it so quickly arrived. Highly, highly recommended.

Karl Bohm's Underrated Great Brahms Symphony Cycle.......2003-03-29

The 1970's and the early 1980's were a time when several conductors recorded distinguished versions of Brahms' symphony cycle; most notable of these are those from Karajan, Haitink, Bernstein, and especially Sanderling. Although the finest remains Sanderling's exceptionally warm, brilliant recordings with the Dresden Staatskapelle, a close second has to be Karl Bohm's distinguished recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic. This splendid cycle includes the best version I have yet heard of Brahms' 1st Symphony (though a close second may be Kurt Masur's Teldec recording with the New York Philharmonic). Bohm's account of the 4th Symphony is among the darkest, most brooding I have heard, only eclipsed by Carlos Kleiber's definitive account with the Vienna Philharmonic that was digitally recorded only a few years later. I disagree with a previous reviewer who contends that Bohm's tempi tend to be slow, especially in the 2nd Symphony. After listening to several distinguished accounts from the likes of Bernstein, Harnoncourt and Masur, I find that Bohm's tempi are among the swiftest, only surpassed in speed by Masur. Unfortunately the 2nd Symphony is the only "failure" in this set; yet it is a failure only when you compare it against distinguished recordings made by Haitink, Harnoncourt, Masur, and especially Bernstein. The sound quality is exceptionally warm and rich for late analogue recordings. And of course, at this price, Bohm's Brahms Symphony cycle must certainly should be regarded a steal. Fans of Karl Bohm and the Vienna Philharmonic won't be disappointed with this impressive CD set.

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Fritz Reiner

Average customer rating:

Musically great but too many retreads
One of the great conductors of the 20th century
A Real Find!
Superb Collection...

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner , Ludwig van Beethoven , Johannes Brahms , Felix Mendelssohn , Bela Bartok , Richard Wagner , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Strauss , Maurice Ravel , Manuel de Falla , Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra , NBC Symphony Orchestra , RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra , Philadelphia Orchestra , and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000239AT2
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Tracks:

Coriolan Overture, Op.62 - Emil Gilels
I Allegro Non Troppo - Emil Gilels
II Allegro Appassionato - Emil Gilels
III Andante - Piu Adagio - Emil Gilels
IV Allegretto Grazioso - Un Poco Piu Presto - Emil Gilels
I Adagio - Allegro Spiritoso - Fritz Reiner
II Andante - Fritz Reiner
III Menuetto - Trio - Fritz Reiner
IV Presto - Fritz Reiner
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo - Emil Gilels

Tracks:

Tragic Overture, Op.81 - Fritz Reiner
Gotterdammerung: Morgendammerung Und Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt - Fritz Reiner
Swineherd's Dance - Fritz Reiner
Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op.28 - Fritz Reiner
I Prelude. Vif - Fritz Reiner
II Forlane. Allegretto - Fritz Reiner
III Menuet. Allegro Moderato - Fritz Reiner
IV Rigaudon. Assez Vif - Fritz Reiner
I Introduccion Y Escena - Carol Brice
II En La Cueva: La Noche - Carol Brice
III Cancion Del Amor Dolido - Carol Brice
IV El Aparecido - Carol Brice
V Danza Del Terror - Carol Brice
VI El Circulo Magico: Romance Del Pescador - Carol Brice
VII A Media Noche: Los Sortilegios - Carol Brice
VIII Danza Ritual Del Fuego: Para Ahuyentar Los Malos Espiritus - Carol Brice
IX Escena - Carol Brice
X Cancion Del Fuego Fatuo - Carol Brice
XI Pantomima - Carol Brice
XII Danza Del Juego De Amor - Carol Brice
XIII Final. Las Campanas Del Amanecer - Carol Brice

Amazon.com

The bulk of this double-disc bargain features Reiner with the Chicago Symphony, which he shaped into a polished paragon of orchestral virtuosity. The set opens with Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, one of best on disc, thrusting and powerful. The longest work is Brahms's Second Piano Concerto, which pits Reiner's machined precision against Gilels's big, warm sound. The combination yielded one of the best Brahms Seconds in the catalogue, more dynamic than the pianist's later version with Jochum (on DG). Mozart's Linz Symphony gets a lean, classical performance, forward-moving yet lyrical, the finale thrilling. The Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Goetterdaemmerung, stresses the darkness of the Rhine more than the light of the dawn, and Reiner's 1950 Til Eulenspiegel with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra captures the sardonic humor of Strauss's masterpiece. Falla's El Amor Brujo, a work Reiner often played, is a souvenir of his leadership of the Pittsburgh Symphony, brilliantly done with Carol Brice a terrific, chesty-voiced singer. Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin could use a bit more charm and grace, but it's well-played by the NBC Symphony. Sonics range from superb early stereo to decent late 1940s mono. A good overview, proving that Reiner was indeed one of the century's great maestros. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Musically great but too many retreads.......2005-12-13

The compilers of the Great Conductors series let us down with this installment devoted to Fritz Reiner. The vast majority of the works on these 2 CDs are commercially available on RCA and always have been. The Mozart Linz Sym., the Ravel Tombeaut de Couperin (a "why bother?" if ever there was one), and a mono El Amor Brujo from Pittsburgh (re-recorded by Reiner to far more dramatic effect with Leontyne Price and the CSO) are the slim claims to novelty.

If you don't own the Coriolan or the Brahms 2nd Concerto with Gilels, both superb performances, this set has something to offer. The old RCA standbys are all superb, in fact. But where is Reiner the long-time opera conductor? Reiner in live performances from Chicago? Reiner with the Vienna Phil. near the end of his life? Reiner in unusual repertoire? By missing so many opportunities, the Great Condcutors series did poorly by one of their truly great conductors.

One of the great conductors of the 20th century.......2005-02-19

Undoubtedly, Fritz Reiner's twofer is one of the most satisfying releases in this batch of the excellent "Great Conductors of the 20th Century" series. A lot of the material covered here is not only new to CD, most is moreover of the highest order.

One will be hard-pressed to find more gripping recordings of Beethoven's "Coriolan", Brahms' "Tragic Ouverture" and 2nd Piano concerto (which highlights the superb cooperation between Reiner and the Russian keyboard giant Emil Gilels again). There is also an excellent Mozart Symphony #36 "Linz". All are vintage Chicago Symphony of the late 1950s (with a well-nigh ideal orchestral balance, a stunning clarity of structure and excitingly incisive playing), magnified by truly awesome early stereo.

CD two also features an earlier account (1946) of de Falla's "El amor brujo" with soprano Carol Brice and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which Reiner headed from 1938 until 1948. Ravel's "Tombeau de Couperin" with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel" with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra from the early 1950's rounds off this outstanding release. Both composers, Ravel and Strauss, have always been close to Reiner.

In short, a great introduction for anyone wishing to taste Fritz Reiner's art, as well as a must for collectors.

A Real Find!.......2004-12-04

"Great Conductors of the 20th Century" has proven to be a fascinating, revealing series of recordings, and perhaps no volume in the series has shown itself to be more revealing than this one.
While Toscanini is generally given credit for being a literally faithful interpreter of scores, he made minor adjustments even to the scores of composers he revered, like Beethoven and Brahms. The legendary conductor who came the closest to being a literal interpreter was Fritz Reiner.
This is not to say the Reiner's performances were dry or lacked character. Far from it! Like Szell, Solti, and to a lesser extant, Toscanini, Reiner sought to sublimate his ego in the service of the composer's intent, as indicated in the score. Reiner's achievement was to inject less of his personality into his performances than those of the other Apollonarians. When we listen to a Reiner recording, therefore, we don't find out a lot about Fritz Reiner. We do discover a lot about Beethoven, or Brahms, or Wagner, or Ravel, or Bartok, or whoever else's music he's conducting. It's sort of like watching a production of Shakespeare, mounted by a great director, who shapes the overall vision of the play, and lets the actors play their parts with as little editorial comment but as much faithfullness as possible.
Reiner's object is to mount a performance which gets the audience to love the composer's work as much as he does. He doesn't seem to really care what you think about him.
I bought this set on a recommedation from a friend about the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto with Emil Gilels. I was not disappointed. Gilels delivers his usual robust, muscular performance and Reiner and the Chicago Symphony are right there with him, every step of the way. The Andante - piu adagio is as gentle and refined as the other movements are strong and confident. This is one extraodinary performance.
Beethoven's "Coriolan Overture," which preceeds the Brahms, is, if anything, even better. It hits you like a stiff left jab in the nose, and once it has your attention, it doesn't let go of it. The Brahms "Tragic Overture" is equally impressive.
"Dawn and Siegfried's Ride" from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" reveals just how beautiful Wagner's music can sound when given a lean and disciplined approach.
Perhaps one reason Reiner is so hard to pin down as a conductor is that he was a true cosmopolitan, who appreciated the differences in flavors, feelings and aromas of different cultures. Thus, he is equally at home presenting the shining, delicate surfaces, and underlying subtelties, of Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin," or the firey passion and mysticism of de Falla's "El Amor Brujo" as he is with the German repertoire. In fact, this particular version of "El Amor Brujo" is to die for. Carol Brice may not be able to match Leontyne Price in terms of glorious tone, but she more than makes up for it in an idiomatically correct performance, full of that Iberian fire that Price, for all her talent, just couldn't fathom.
By the way, the other selections, by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bartok
and Richard Strauss, are all up to the same high standards.
This CD is a special musical treat, and, at the price, a real FIND!

Superb Collection..........2004-12-02

Dating from the mid 1940's to the late 1950's, this is an unusual and wonderful collection of recordings by the late Fritz Reiner. The latter period constituted his "Golden Age" - his storied collaboration with the Chicago Symphony produced some of the most spectacular recordings of the 20th Century, and a number of interesting examples are included here, including the wonderful Brahms "Tragic Overture."

But the most fascinating recordings in this collection for Reiner fans are those preceding his Chicago years. The "Til Eulenspiegel" recording, from the early '50's in New York City, is a wonder - it is certainly one of the most completely satisfying recordings ever made of this very early Strauss work, and it has become the favorite (out of nearly a dozen) in my collection. His recording of "El Amor Brujo" is equally fascinating - I have loved his Chicago Symphony recording with Leontyne Price for decades, but my recent invited guest preferred this recording hands-down, despite the somewhat inferior sound and less-than-hair-trigger playing. She found it more idiomatically Spanish, and I grudgingly agree.

Perhaps best of all, for less than the price of a single modern bit of plastic, I own - forever - a living slice of a truly glorious musical era. Considering its status as a "compilation," I suggest picking it up while the pickin's good - these collections generally don't stick around for very long, and this one is truly terrific.

Average customer rating:

3.5 stars -- a good starter set if the cost is not an issue
Magnificent, highly energized Brahms--Karajan's only rival from the Seventies

Brahms: The Symphonies

Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000E58C
Release Date: 1994-02-25

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 68
Symphony No. 2 In D, Op. 73
Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90
Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98
Serenade In D, Op. 11
Serenade In A, Op. 16
Variations On A Theme By Haydn, Op. 56a
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Hungarian Dances, No. 1, 3, & 10

Customer Reviews:

3.5 stars -- a good starter set if the cost is not an issue.......2007-04-10

This import box represents Bernard Haitink's best Brahms orchestral output, recorded from 1970-80 during his heyday with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. The remastering hasn't changed the sound much from the days these were released on silent surface vinyl recordings; the only difference I can hear is a bit more on the bottom. The upper range is identical to the vinyl pressings from that bygone era.

What has changed since the original release is Haitink's approach to Brahms. He later recorded most of the symphonies with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has, in recent years, recorded them again with the London Symphony Orchestra on its Live label with some available in the super audio format. These recordings are more mature, slower, stodgier and less well-conceived, in my opinion, than his work in this set.

Perhaps along similar lines, these performances eschew the posturing and philosophizing conductors have put forthi in Brahms scores since the days of Furtwangler. Haitink is by contrast eminently straightforward, as he was in virtually all repetory in his salad days in Amsterdam.

My favorites in this set are the same as they were during the days these were out on vinyl -- the sunny Symphony No. 2, which exposes the best in Haitink's personality as well as the euphonius sounds of the Concertgebouw brass. The disk of the two Serenades is another personal favorite, especially that earlier Serenade in D major with its 15-minute adagio. The mating of Symphonies 2 & 3 on a single CD is another of the high points of the set, which you have to buy in order to get this recording.

The less successful Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4, which require a bit more brooding, drama and understandinig than Haitink offers here to be fully accomplished, are available new on single disks for as little at $5-$6. This set offers a number of makeweights to fill out disks -- the Haydn variations and three Hungarian dances with Symphony 4; the Tragic and Academic Festival overtures accompany Symphony No. 1 -- that are all good without being masterful.

What most works against this set is the relatively high import cost and the fact that it takes four CDs to deliver the symphonies. When you consider that Karajan's remastered set from the same period is available on two disks for about $12 and you can buy Bruno Walter's beloved Brahms symphonies, accompanied by more substantial add-ons than here, on three disks for around $15, it places this set at a great disadvantage. You really have to be sold on Haitink to choose this over these and other historic recordings.

The great advantage, of course, is the addition of the two Serenades, a real jewel in this compendium, and the handsome packaging that includes a 34-page booklet in three languages with adequate notes and a bio on the conductor. In addition, this is still Haitink's best attempt at recording Brahms major orchestral works and is several notches better than his later recordings.

A good starter set, then, if cost is not an issue. More experienced collectors probably already have several versions of everything herein and may want to consider whether this meets any unmet need based on the conductor's literal style and the glorious playing and sound of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Magnificent, highly energized Brahms--Karajan's only rival from the Seventies.......2006-02-23

Haitink was fairly new leading the Concertgebouw when he recored this Brahms cycle from 1970-73, yet the two are in remarkable sympathy. He asks for vibrant, energized playing, and they deliver beyond all expectation. These performances are frequently hair-raising; for sheer excitement they rival Toscanini and Karajan, withuot the former's tightness or the latter's grandiosity (great as both are).

Haitink's Brahms manages to be powerful and genial at the same time, combining Bruno Walter's tenderness with dazzling virtuosity. A reviewer can kill a recording with praise, but I defy anyone not to find these readings spellbinding and deeply moving. It's like hearing all four symphonies for the first time (the same goes for the incidental overtures and the two serenades, which were recorded later in 1976 and 1980).

If you have only heard the dull Brahms performances that Haitink later delivered in Boston and London, you will be astonished at these early ones. Philips provides excellent analog sound with lots of impact, miked very close to give us a conductor's perspective. I can only say that I regret overlooking this Brahms cycle for so long and now must place it at the very top of the list.

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