Blomstedt Brahms

Maestro Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig close their acclaimed PENTATONE Brahms cycle with the composer’s Third and Fourth Symphonies. Compared to the epic First and gloomily pastoral Second, Brahms’s Third Symphony is a glorious exploration of the chamber-musical possibilities of the symphony orchestra. While musical variation of elementary motifs already plays an important role in this work, Brahms shows his absolute mastery of that technique even more impressively in The Fourth. Blomstedt’s keen eye for analytical detail never goes at the cost of the music’s emotional resonance, and the Gewandhausorchester plays these symphonies glowingly, demonstrating their extraordinary ensemble sound.

There are so many variables affecting a recording of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem that the chances are almost zero that any one conductor, orchestra, couple of soloists, and chorus (not to mention the sound crew) will get everything, or even most everything, “right” at a given outing. And of course, “right” is a matter of personal taste: after all, this is a major work that most choral music fans and practitioners, both amateur and professional, know, have heard on recordings, and likely have sung—at the very least the fourth-movement chorus “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen”. They have an idea of how the piece is supposed to go, from the particular sound and interpretive style of the soloists to the size of the chorus and character of the singing and orchestral playing.

One of Brahms' earliest musical jobs (besides playing piano in whorehouses) was directing a choral society. This introduced him to the music of the Renaissance and the Baroque, which sparked his antiquarian enthusiasms, in particular his first-hand encounters with the choral music of Bach. Choral music became an important part of Brahms' output – to his art, to his career (Ein deutsches Requiem propelled him to European notice), and to his income. Brahms may have directed much of his choral music to the then-lucrative amateur market, but he also produced plenty for crack choirs and without much reasonable hope for financial reward – again, Ein deutsches Requiem a good example. Like the Requiem, some of these works even became popular.

Once celebrated as 'Beethoven's Tenth', Brahms' first attempt at the symphonic genre was generally greeted as the most promising answer to Beethoven's legendary legacy, and solidified his musical reputation. For Blomstedt, bringing these Brahms pieces into the world in the strange year of 2020 has a special significance, as Robert Schumann, Brahms' close friend and mentor, once pointed out that it is the musician's mission 'to bring light into the depths of the human soul'. The euphoric finale of Brahms' 'First Symphony', evidently inspired by Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy', fully conveys this message of hope and Blomstedt's unshakable belief in the imperishable power of the human spirit.

A special limited-edition 50 CD set of the world's favourite piano concertos, sonatas and other solo pieces. A host of famous pianists perform music from J.S.Bach to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Gershwin. This collection of discs includes the five Beethoven Concertos, three Rachmaninov Concertos as well as concertos by Brahms, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Schumann and Ravel as well as six Mozart Concertos.

A 50-CD set of legendary recordings celebrating the world-renowned Decca Sound. Classic-status pioneering stereo recordings from the past 60 years and starring a galaxy of internationally-acclaimed artistic talent.

Bratsche! It’s not often that the German word for ‘viola’ comes with an exclamation mark attached, but the cover of Antoine Tamestit’s new release heralds something worth celebrating. Among the latest of the new star violists to record Hindemith, Tamestit brings his wonderful musical intelligence to bear on some of the greatest music written for the instrument. Tamestit has selected four contrasting works that reflect that composer’s expressive range: one of the solo sonatas, one of the sonatas with piano, and two very different works for viola and orchestra.