Brahms: (The) Symphonies

Karajan's more beautiful than bold

Advantages: Subtle, Expressive, Beautiful Performances
Disadvantages: Pricey but worth the cost

Every classical music fan will probably have a collection of Brahm's four symphonies around somewhere, but for tonal clarity, poetic beauty and the milking of every orchestral and melodic subtlety I have heard no better than Karajan's rendition with the BPO. The first is clear and bright, with a truly haunting adagio and nice pace to the finale. There are other performances of the 2nd that I prefer, but this gave me new insights into the form, Karajan paying particular attention to crisply defined structure rather than over-Romanticising Brahms' score. The highlight, however, has to be the tumultuously powerful 4th symphony, in which both form and drama fuse marvellously, especially at the culminating final moments of the first and fourth movements. Forget the lower rate orchestral versions around the web, this is worth every ...

cynicalconsumer 14.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Brahms: Complete Symphonies

Horn Trios by Brahms and Ligeti

Advantages: Two outstanding peices of chamber music for an unusual combination of instruments
Disadvantages: On the surface quite contrasting works, listener must be openminded

procedures, deriving new and original ideas influenced by the chamber music of old masters such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann. Ligeti was influenced by the music of fellow Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, who once stated that "Every art has the right to strike its roots in the art of a previous age; it not only has the right to but it must stem from it". This makes the pairing of one of Ligeti's finest works with the Brahms Op.40 Trio a very appropriate one. Both outstanding chamber works in their own rights and certainly the two best pieces composed for this unusual combination invented by Brahms, a good recording is essential, but hard to find. There are not that many recordings in existence of these works due to the technical complexity for performers and even acclaimed recordings such as the CD by Perlman, Ashkenazy ...

sandersabigail 29.08.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Brahms; Ligeti: Horn Trios

Mozart Symphonies 40+41

Advantages: Beatuful redentions of highly celebrated works
Disadvantages: Would be nicer with a broader selcetion on disc

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a household name, even among non-classical music lovers - he is - for many - the definition of music. This CD houses 2 works by the genius - Symphony No.40 in G minor and Symphony No.41 - Jupiter. Mozart wrote No.40 after the death of his infant daughter - this is potrayed immediatly through the minor key in which the piece begins in. It later modulates to a major key which denotes his hopefulness of moving on and closing the bereavement door. The piece culminates in a repetition and develoment of the 1st section to reiterate his pain and sorrow. Symphony No. 41 was completed just 1month after no.40, in the summer of 1788. It is nicknamed ' The Jupiter Symphony' due to its power and percieved size, particularly in the finale, where a memorable theme is heard alongside with others that have featured ...

pdillon91 04.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Mozart: Symphonies