Brahms 4 Symphonies

Like Paavo Berglund’s Sibelius symphony recordings, also with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, these Brahms performances inject a certain novelty that will be appreciated especially by the listener who has wearied of them due to excessive repetition. While these are not radically desiccated renditions in the manner of Chailly or Harnoncourt, the COE’s smaller-scaled string body does require a bit of time at first for your ear to adjust to the thinner timbres. But the reward is a harvest of inner detail, much of it barely audible in full-size orchestral performances (but well captured by Ondine’s vivid recordings), which continually surprises and delights.

Following the 2011 landmark Beethoven cycle, Riccardo Chailly returns with a recording of the complete Brahms symphonies and orchestral works including the overtures and Haydn Variations. Rarities include world premiere recordings of two piano intermezzi orchestrated by Paul Klengel (brother of the Gewandhaus’ long-standing principal cellist Julius Klengel); the 9 Liebeslieder waltzes; the original first performance version of the Andante of Symphony No. 1 and the even rarer revised opening of the Fourth Symphony. Chailly has radically rethought his approach to these works, re-examining the scores and returning to the recorded interpretations of a generation of conductors alive during Brahms’ lifetime, principally Felix Weingartner and one of his Gewandhaus predecessors Bruno Walter.

Over the past 100 years, there have been recordings of the complete Brahms' symphonies that rank with the greatest recordings of anything ever made. There are wonderful Weingartners, the fabulous Furtwänglers, the monumental Klemperers, the amazing Abbados…the list goes on and on. Of course, over the past 100 years, there have been recordings of Brahms symphonies that rank among the worst recordings of anything ever made. There are the obdurate Davalos, the superficial Karajans, and the uncomprehending Jarvis…again, the list goes on and on.

I have to recommend this box set of Brahms Symphonies and other works including his Requiem recorded in the 1990's by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic. Warner Classics released this edition in 2014 and it seems fitting for me to be the first one to review it now as Kurt Masur sadly passed away at the end of 2015. He had been the music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 until 2002 and this had been seen as a very successful period for the Orchestra which had been a bit wayward until he took over.

William Steinberg was recognized as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of the Brahms Symphonies and his recordings of these masterpieces for the COMMAND label have been acclaimed by critics as among the finest recorded interpretations of these great works.

Everyone seems to agree that this mono Brahms cycle is one of the great ones, and the only question that really matters is a personal one: can you put up with decent mono sound, or must you have stereo (or to go a step further, digital?). The matter is further complicated by the fact that Eugen Jochum rerecorded this music in fine stereo for EMI, and those performances are also available on two twofers. It's your call, but by all means do sample this marvelous conductor's inspired way with Brahms.

Mainstream performances of the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms tend to reflect the interpretive standards of the mid-20th century – slow to moderate tempos, a large orchestra with a homogenized ensemble blend, and consistently serious moods – which have contributed to the similarities of sound and expression in many modern sets. In contrast, Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra present a fresh take on the symphonies, offering unusually brisk tempos, a lean ensemble sound with distinctive tone colors, and a sense of vitality and propulsion that is more typical of historically informed performance practice.

"A straight, direct reading [of No.2], with glowing pastoral lyricism … The opening [of No.4] is simple and songful, yet there is plenty of vitality too, the third movement is rhythmically exhilarating and the great passacaglia has weight and momentum … there is real Brahmsian gravitas here" (Gramophone).

Here are Herbert von Karajan's celebrated interpretations of the four Brahms symphonies recorded in concert in 1973, at the peak of his career. Unitel's films from this period documented the maestro with his great Berlin orchestra on 35mm colour film and in stereo. "Others have gotten more reflection out of Brahms … but not more virility and controlled intense beauty than Karajan in the Unitel films" (New York Times).