Symphony 1 / Tragic Overture

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Karel Ancerl

2. Tragic Overture, in D minor, Op. 81
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Karel Ancerl

Tracks:

Un Poco Sostenuto-Allegro
Andante Sostenuto
Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
Adagio-Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Brio
Tragic Overture, Op.81
Academic Festival Overture, Op.80

Amazon.com

Naxos is obviously excited about this recording, publicizing it widely and issuing it in three different formats (this plain CD, as well as SACD and DVD Audio). You can understand the excitement immediately, as the Symphony opens with tremendous power, fortified by uncommon energy in the kettledrums, signifying that there's going to be no routine playing here. But Alsop is not all aggression; her Andante sostenuto is very tender and affecting. Detail work is just wonderful--listen, for example, to the gorgeous flute solo in the fourth movement introduction--and Brahms's syncopations, always a major aspect of his style, get their full due in this rhythmically alert performance. Both Overtures are vividly characterized, and the Academic Festival retains its humor more than usual. At this point there are so many Brahms recordings that no single one is going to satisfy all of our needs, but this recording is competitive with the best in artistic and sonic aspects. In price, it mops the floor with the competition. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

*Yawn*.......2007-05-06

There's far too much hype surrounding Alsop's Brahms. Maestra Alsop has supposedly spent incalculable hours studying Brahms' scores to find those precious new nuggets that have somehow escaped other conductors. With all that, I expected to hear new interpretive insights ... but there were none. With so many important recordings of the Symphony No. 1 already out there -- Wand, Tennstedt, Dorati, Stokowski and Toscanini to name just a few -- this recording becomes completely unnecessary.

Bravo, a woman gets to record the Brahms First, but..........2006-07-01

It's great news that after generations of discrimination, a woman conductor is allowed to record the Brahms First. It's not so great that Marin Alsop is only middling good at it. This is not to write her off--Leonard Slatkin and Greard Schwarz are only middling good, too, and they are among the most recorded American conductors. In fact, if we put Alsop up against Americans who have given us Brahms Firsts, she looks pretty good, being exceeded only by Bernstein and Levine. Not bad.

The London Phil. plays vrey well, and Naxos gives us premium-price sonics for a bargain release. As to the interpretation, Alsop suffers from having no overarching conception. The first movement begins with an aggressively thumping timpani, preparing us for a driving interpretation, but a few bars later the rhythm slackens off, only to pick up and back off several more times. The easiest movement in the symphony is the second, which requires only a passionate, sustained line. Alsop doesn't seem to know how to set one; again you feel that she's pushing and pulling without much purpose.

The Scherzo is gently conceived, an unusual approach but not a bad idea given the sturdiness of the other movements. But Alsop has a hard time getting the music to build as gloriously as it should. The finale is a difficult movement for conductors to judge. My preference is for it to sound titanic and triumphant. Alsop doesn't go that way. Her opening Adagio is remakrably slack. As for the body of the movement with its famous tune, she strings one bar after another without any structural build.

In all, a Brhams First that earns the faint praise of being pleasant. One has to quesiton the staying power of Alsop as an artist who is ready to lead the world's great orchestras. But as a pioneer she deserves only praise.

I wish I could get excited over this CD.......2005-09-18

Alsop has recently been appointed music director of the Baltimore Symphony. A lot has been made of this because she is a she. I think she is a good conductor and quite capable. But, I feel there is little "magic" in what she does. This Brahms 1st is clean and well played but there is none of the drama and individuality that you find in versions by Karajan or Walter.I hope that Alsop will be judged based on her music making and not her gender. I also hope she is successful in Baltimore. And, yet, as evidenced by this recording and others of her's I have heard, I think the jury is still out.

An average performance quite distant from greatness.......2005-09-13

Marin Alsop is now probably the most-recorded woman conductor ever, having churned out regular CDs and having had her photo appear on the cover of most high circulation classical music magazines. For all the buzz about her, she demonstrates no individual trait that separates her from the crowd other than being the most well known female conductor in a man's profession.

Here she is equipped with one of the world's 10 best orchestras and takes on repertoire that puts her in direct competition with every conductor in history including the great, near great and mediocre conductors of the recording era. Based on the evidence presented on this CD, I do not believe she is up to that task.

Her performance of the Symphony No. 1 starts well with timpani supporting the downstrokes in the opening theme, making a clear statement about the serious message to come. However, things soon go awry as a too big timpani stroke clouds the picture during a bad changeover to the exposition.

Alsop next uses an ineffective contrivance that she repeats throughout this recording. She takes the quieter music much more slowly than the louder music, as if to say quiet equals slow and loud equals fast. She does this over and over throuhgout the symphony.

While this can enhance the music when handled like light and shade, Alsop's approach is more like black and white. It lacks subtlety and leads to more of a stop and go approach. Instead of enhancing the experience, it gets in the way. For me, this constant tinkering with pulse and motion is an annoyance.

Alsop fruitlessly takes the exposition repeat in the first movement, saying nothing more than, "Here is the music again." While composers add repeats to elongate their music and follow structural design, recreators are required to interpret repeats differently, to say something different with the same music when doing it a second time. Alsop does nothing more than repeat the music at the same speed and with the same accents. What's the point?

In addition, the playing of the London Philharmonic is not uniformly the best I've heard from that group during the dramatic first movement. There is little that is excellent in the second movement, as the wonderful clarinet interplay is -- like the rest of this performance -- good but not great. The violin and horn solos and duo are better at the end, although the violin is probably too meaty for this gentle music.

Alsop overinterprets the second movement "Andante Sostenuto", which translates to "at a sustained walking pace." Like most conductors, she takes the second movement as an adagio. The marking is more akin to what goes on at the beginning of the third movement, where Alsop leads an inspired reading and does her best work in the symphony.

The dramatic closing movement begins without ornaments from the strings, a mistake in my opinion. The following pizzicato is almost silent, a contrast in keeping with Alsop's differential speeds in the opening movement. There is frankly too much contrast here for the whole to be effective. In addition, there is more poor playing as the timpani doesn't quite match the orchestral downstrokes as it did in the first movement.

Alsop again fidgets with tempo in the quieter sections of the closing movement, then doesn't slow down for the descending scales at about 11 minutes, where a slower tempo would indeed be effective. She hustles right through this section as she does all the louder moments. A nice finish is not enough to save this performance from all its prior shortcomings.

The "Tragic" overture that follows has all the fingerprints of her work in the symphony. Alsop leads a highly nuanced and extremely well played version of the "Academic Festival" overture to close the CD. So this CD begins and ends well but, unfortunately, the 60 minutes in between is not performed at such a high level.

Even with modern DDD recording at Naxos's very inexpensive price, this is not an essential purchase for anyone other than fans of the conductor. You can pay about the same money on this Web site and get much better performances by Walter and Karajan (to name only two) that will give more lasting pleasure over a long term.

My favorite recording of this music continues to be the 1962 recording by Karel Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, last seen linked to a bad mono performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1. I highly recommend that performance to anyone that wants to hear a dramatic realization of the Brahms Symphony No. 1.

Good, but..........2005-04-28

The benchmark recordings of Brahms' first symphony for me are: Furtwangler's 1952 BPO live (DG), Karl Bohm's 1959 recording with BPO(DG), Bruno Walter's 1952 NYPO account (Sony), Christoph von Dohnanyi's Cleveland recording(Teldec), and Takashi Asahina's 2000 live with New Japan Philharmonic(Fontec). Alsop's un poco sostenuto beginning is appropriately grand with powerful strokes of timpani adding to the impact. The tempo shift as the movement enters the allegro proper is nicely executed. Perhaps the movement lacks the kind of urgent tension that marks Karl Bohm's account but Alsop scores by keeping the exposition repeat intact, which I think is essential in this symphony to maintain the overall proportion and impact. The middle movements are also nicely done. My only complaint is that the tension slightly slackens in the last movement as if the conductor and orchestra were struggling to keep the music afloat. The lead-in to the alphorn theme sounds a bit pedestrian while the famous "big theme" is played rather too slowly, thus robbing the music of its forward momentum. Too bad when the preceding movements are so well played. But the closing pages are unerringly executed as the famous brass chorale sings out its victorious joy. The recorded sound is very good if not top-notch. In sum, this latest offering is in no way bad and almost as good as the Kertesz/VPO but clearly falls behind the benchmark recordings mentioned above.

Average customer rating:

Good but not memorable for me
Brahms symphonies
sloppy
One of Solti's better recordings in Chicago
Very good

Johannes Brahms: The Symphonies

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Mendelssohn: 5 Symphonies; 7 Overtures
Brahms: Concertos for Piano No. 1 & 2, Fantasia Op. 116
Schubert: 8 Symphonies
Dvorák: The Symphonies
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ASIN: B0000041Z5
Release Date: 1992-02-11

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:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
Beginner or Expert
Very Informative and Enjoyable
Frank's view
Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Tragic Overture, Op.81
Alto-Rhapsody, Op.53 - Christa Ludwig
I: Un Poco Sostenuto - Allegro
II: Andante Sostenuto
III: Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
IV: Adagio - Allegro Non Troppo Ma Con Brio

Customer Reviews:

A great performance, but no granite, please.......2006-11-26

Because the terms 'monumental' and 'granitic' have been applied so often to Klemperer, they get repeated endlessly. In some ways his Brahms First may sound like that (I've used the same words), but on closer listening, the second motto in the first movement, for example, is rather languid and soft. Klemperer leads with great force, but I can't agree with reviewers who claim he is hammering home th first movement or driving the tempo. Klemperer has tremendous integrity, and he never sentimentlizes, but in his way he can be quite flexible (as in the supple opening of the slow movement).

In fact, the slow movement here is a touchstone for Klemperer's greatness; it moves along with such authority and inner life, such severe control merged with real emotion, that one despairs of ever conductors like him again. The Scherzo is a bit of a surprise--it's one of the fastest on disc at 4:42 min. and full of good humor. The finale is also fast at 16 min., and anyone expecting ponderousness (or granite) will find Klemperer to be surprisingly songful in the famous main theme. In any event, this is a great First that speaks for itself, but I thought I'd clear the air of a few cobwebs.

Very Strong Brahms From Klemperer.......2006-11-07

Right from the titanic opening, you are captivated by the music. Klemperer can be a very dry conductor, very objective and lacking mercurial qualities which are more readily found in the Brahms performances by Furtwangler. However there can't be any denying that from a purely objective standpoint, Klemperer's recording of the 1st symphony by Brahms is one of the truly greatest. Practically everything sounds right, tempos, weight of sound and the true dignity of the music is fully conveyed. The additional pieces are great too, the Tragic Overture and the Alto Rhapsody with Christa Ludwig and male choir.

This is not the greatest performance of this symphony but it is certainly in the top 5 of all time. Here's my rundown of that top 5.

1. Furtwangler 1951
2. Karajan 1964
3. Klemperer 1961 ( the one under review )
4. Karajan 1987
5. Abbado 1990

Superlative!!.......2006-04-28

I hadn't listened to this symphony in close to thirty years (shame on me) and purchased the Kemplerer box set (all the symphonies plus the overtures). As other reviewers mentioned this is one of, if not the best interpretations of these works. I was originally looking for a recording I first heard during the early '70s which was particularly striking. In the last movement of the 1st, that version brought the string accompaniment for the transition to the "9th" theme to the fore, giving it an especially shimmering quality. I forget which version it was and have never been able to find it again. Kempeler does not, unfortunately, conduct that section the same way. However, in all other respects, it is a wonderful recording and belongs in any collection. By the way, I would be interested in hearing from anyone who could identify the other recording I am looking for (is it karajan, Walter or Boehm or someone else)?

Solemn and ponderous.......2004-06-01

I don't understand why Klemperer's readings are described as "granitic" and "monumental". Slow and ponderous are better descriptions. I used to find Brahms 1 too solemn a work till I discovered Eugen Jochum's recording on EMI. Jochum with his flexible phrasing and tempi makes the music sing. I suggest all those who thing this is great to listen to Jochum. All one gets from Klemperer is a headache.

otherworldly !.......2004-05-21

arguably the finest recording of Brahms 1st, utterly sweeping and majestic yet with unbelievable foundation and architecture which Klemperer is noted for. now reissued under EMI's great recordings of the century series with the rest of Klemp's Brahms. a must have period!

Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Tragic Overture; Academic Festival Overture [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

*Yawn*
Auspicious start to the Marin Alsop Brahms Cycle ... BUT
Marin Alsop Begins Her Brahms Series

Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Tragic Overture; Academic Festival Overture [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 - Hungarian Dances
Brahms: Symphony 3
Mahler 9 [Hybrid SACD]
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 [Hybrid SACD]
Mozart: Flute Concertos; Rondo; Andante [Includes the Bis 2005 Catalog] [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B0007ACVD2
Release Date: 2005-02-22

Amazon.com

Naxos is obviously excited about this recording, publicizing it widely and issuing it in three different formats (this SACD, as well as plain CD and DVD Audio). You can understand the excitement immediately, as the Symphony opens with tremendous power, fortified by uncommon energy in the kettledrums, signifying that there's going to be no routine playing here. But Alsop is not all aggression; her Andante sostenuto is very tender and affecting. Detail work is just wonderful--listen, for example, to the gorgeous flute solo in the fourth movement introduction--and Brahms's syncopations, always a major aspect of his style, get their full due in this rhythmically alert performance. Both Overtures are vividly characterized, and the Academic Festival retains its humor more than usual. At this point there are so many Brahms recordings that no single one is going to satisfy all of our needs, but this recording is competitive with the best in artistic and sonic aspects. In price, it mops the floor with the competition. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

*Yawn*.......2007-06-29

There's far too much hype surrounding Alsop's Brahms. Maestra Alsop has supposedly spent incalculable hours studying Brahms' scores to find those precious new nuggets that have somehow escaped other conductors. With all that, I expected to hear new interpretive insights ... but there were none. With so many important recordings of the Symphony No. 1 already out there -- Wand, Tennstedt, Dorati, Stokowski, Jarvi and Toscanini to name just a few -- this recording becomes completely unnecessary.

Auspicious start to the Marin Alsop Brahms Cycle ... BUT.......2005-05-07

I have been listening to this new hybrid CD/SACD disc of the first Brahms symphony for a while now, and I am very, very, very frustrated. I am a Marin Alsop fan, and I can also support the level of thoughtfulness that typically goes into at least some of the Naxos releases. My nomination for singular glory of the Naxos catalogue by the way is the superb recording of the sadly neglected Dvorak Piano Concerto by Jeno Jando, Antoni Wit, & the Polish Radio. Just a perfect gem, that actually makes a tremendous case for the Dvorak being as great as the Schumann.

But back to Ms. Alsop and the London Philharmonic in this disc of Brahms. I have to say that Ms. Alsop is finding her own approach to playing Brahms, and although she infuses plenty of romantic fire and drama into the maestoso opening, overall she rather reveals Brahms the humanist to us instead of Brahms the gruff, shy, painfully reserved composer of say, works like the Alto Rhapsody. The London Philharmonic have a great, long Brahms tradition, and they are backing Ms. Alsop every step of the way so far as I can tell. So far so good.

But the dreadful and frustrating thing to me is that the venue largely sabotages all the insight and musical effort. The Watford Colosseum is just a horrid, circular sounding open space that gathers the music up into a cotton candy pillar of Elvis-fan pink hair, and then keeps it spinning round. The bass frequencies are accentuated, and the rest of the frequency spectrum is rendered faint by de-emphasis. The directional cues which would ordinarily place woodwinds and brass and strings in a coherent acoustic are simply almost completely garbled here by the Watford mess. A listener could actually be forgiven for thinking that this album has been multitracked, particularly in multi-channel SuperAudio resolution, with different sections of the orchestra being recorded at different times in different venues, so egregious is the damage that this awful acoustic does. Strings could have been recorded in site A, on Monday; woodwinds and soft to mezzoforte brass at site B on Tuesday; then of course when woodwinds or brass play louder, that sounds like it was recorded at site C on Wednesday; and on it goes.

Now please understand me. The artifice and imbalance of this awful venue are perfectly listenable in a generic, elevator music sort of way.

But this performance is actually so interesting, as it seems to be trying to give us a slightly different view of Brahms that would be really nice if you could hear it as it was probably intended. The moment you listen closely to this disc, trying to grasp the overall concept, you hear the many subtle ways in which this particular venue simply lets all go loopy and blends, blends, blends, except when it comes to making the orchestra sections seem like they are playing in the same acoustic; and then goes on to distort the frequency spectrum consistently, highlighting the lack of locating acoustic in the first place.

If Brahms were simply a chord-based classical pop composer this probably would little matter, but the fact is that part of Brahms' genius was his uncanny ability to write music that at first hearing sounds like chordal harmony and only later reveals its polyphonic depth and subtlety with close listening and greater familiarity. Having to suffer through all this mess in the high resolution of multi-channel Super Audio only adds insult to the embarrassment of putting a performance like this in the Watford Colosseum.

I am so upset for Ms. Alsop, the London Philharmonic, and even for Naxos. Surely somebody really dropped the ball on planning insofar as they settled for the Watford Colosseum as the recording studio. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

Still, five starts for Ms. Alsop, the London Philharmonic, and of course for Brahms.

Message to Naxos, now: Fire the ninny who booked Watford, and get into a real music hall for the remaining three symphonies. Otherwise we can surely expect that continued use of the Watford Colosseum will simply continue to Cuisinart those performances, too. Why or why did the folks at Naxos trip over their own feet like this? They have made enough good to outstanding recordings over the years, in a variety of venues; and they simply should have known better.

Marin Alsop Begins Her Brahms Series.......2005-02-23

[I have compared the SACD and plain CD versions of this disc and can say that the issue on SACD is in much more brilliant and lifelike sound, as seems to be the case generally for SACD issues. Being a hybrid SACD, this issue can be played on either a regular CD player or a newer SACD player. Many classical music lovers who haven't yet bought an SACD player are nonetheless acquiring discs like this one in order to have them when they DO buy a newer machine. In my case, I do not own an SACD player and made my comparisons of the two versions of the disc using a friend's equipment. And I'm inching toward buying an SACD player for myself.]

Marin Alsop, who is surely a rising star among American conductors, has made a lot of recordings in recent years, but they are mostly of American music and slightly outside the core repertoire--Rouse, Bernstein, Barber, Torke, Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor, Libby Larsen, Joan Tower, Edward Joseph Collins and with her own Concordia Orchestra, the music of stride-master James P. Johnson. Now apparently she's thought to be good enough by her main record label, Naxos, to begin recording things in the center of the classical music repertoire--the Brahms symphonies and overtures. This CD is the first in that series. And she is given one of the world's great orchestras to record with, the London Philharmonic. The question, of course, is how will she do in these hugely over-recorded works? On the basis of this first disc I'd have to say that she will be able to hold her own with the big boys. Her effort here is abetted by absolutely exquisite playing by the LPO.

The Brahms First is the favorite of many people (not me, no doubt a personal idiosyncrasy) and thus is a tough one to start the series with (aside from that being chronologically appropriate). This is, by and large, a mainstream reading. Tempi, with one small exception, are well-judged. Balances are superb. Phrasing is sensitive, transitions, with the same exception, are smooth and natural-sounding. The LPO play like angels. How does Alsop's conception compare with other conductors' versions. Well, much to my surprise the performance this most reminds me of is my own personal favorite of all the Brahms Firsts that I know, that of Kurt Sanderling conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle, recorded in 1971. Perhaps there is less cholesterol in the string playing than in the wonderful Walter/Columbia Symphony recording, but the LPO strings are actually somewhat lusher than those in the Sanderling. There are many other wonderful performances, of course, including Haitink/Concertgebouw, Furtwängler/VPO, Karajan/BPO, and many others. But this one can stand with them. My only quibble, alluded to above, is the handling of the crucial tempo change in Movement IV at the statement of the Big Tune. The score calls for an Allegro non troppo ma con brio tempo for the initial statement of that theme, but Alsop takes an Andante con not much moto at the beginning (and it DOES sound lush and beautiful, I'll give it that) but the lead up to the animato section at mm. 94 and following, seems to rush awkwardly to get up to the tempo she wants for the animato. That aside, though, this is a lovely reading and one that easily deserves a recommendation. Add to that good performances of both the Tragic and Academic Festival Overtures, and you have a winner.

Naxos helps us out with their budget pricing. How can you lose?

TT=72:42

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

inspired performance !!!

The Story of Schubert

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

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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Mozart: String Quartet In B-Flat Major, K. 172
Marche Militaire, D. 733, No. 1
Hark, Hark, The Lark!, D. 889
Mass No. 5 In A-Flat Major, D. 678: Credo
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485: Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In C Minor, D. 417 'Tragic': Finale: Allegro
Moment Musicaux No. 3 In F Minor, D. 780
Piano Sonata In A Minor, D. 845: Moderato
The Erl King, D. 328
Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, D. 125: Allegro
Symphony No. 6 In C Major, D. 589 'Little': Andante
Symphony No. 6 In C Major, D. 589 'Little': Scherzo
To Music, D. 547
The Trout, D. 550
Piano Quintet In A Major, D. 667 'Trout': Theme And Variations
Octet In F Major, D. 803: Finale
Impromptu In B-Flat Major, D. 935 No. 3
String Quintet In C Major, D. 956: Allegro ma non troppo
Wanderer Fantasy In C Major, D. 760
Symphony No. 8 In B Minor, D. 759 'Unfinished': Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 9 In C Major, D. 944 'Great': Andante-Allegro ma non troppo
Mass No. 6 IN E-Flat Major, D. 950: Gloria
String Quartet No. 14 In D Minor, D. 810 'Death And The Maiden': Andante con moto
Symphony No. 8 In B Minor, D. 759 'Unfinished': Andante
Ave Maria, D. 839
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485 (Complete): Allegro
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485 (Complete): Andante con moto
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485 (Complete): Menuetto: Allegro molto
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485 (Complete): Allegro vivace

Customer Reviews:

inspired performance !!!.......2001-09-02

this collection deserves more than 5 stars.peter maag and the philharmonica hungarica are in top form.this is the best ever of schubert's fifth and eigth i have ever listened to.it is not karl bohm or leonard bernstein or george szell or lorin maazel.
truly the hungarians inspired by maag easily beat all the other top orchestras.
the orchestral texture is transparent with a perfect balance among the string sections ,the woodwind and the brass sections.peter maag obviously loves this music and brings out the heavenly beauty ,the pathos and the monumental dramatic quality of these works.
just listen to schubert's fifth second movement which ends with a heart rending cello phrase.
it is a shame that the well established record companies have not thought it fit to record more of peter maag.in my opinion he is one of the greatest ever conductors.
i will not exchange these performances for any other!

Average customer rating:

great series

The Story Of Brahms

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

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The Story of Tchaikovsky
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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!

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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Piano Concerti 1 & 2 / Haydn 5
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Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

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.

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

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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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Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | 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.

Music Review: