Classical music reviews

I'm a youngish guy and the trouble I have with a lot of "my dad's music" is that it seems like you had to be there. A great artist's style is copied and used so often that when, decades later, you go back to the source, you're not hearing anything revolutionary -- the thing that made the original artist great in the first place. That's doesn't seem to be the case with this CD. This CD seems really "alive" to me. The music bursts from the speakers and jumps all around you. I can still hear the passion and brilliance in this music that I often find missing from other supposedly "great" performers of a bygone era. I'm very impressed with this record.

Any Piece Of Duke Ellington's Music is History.This Disc Is Fantastic as Much Of Sir Duke's Music Usually is.THough THe Multi-Set Costs an Arm&A Leg this is a Good Introduction into the World Of One of Musics Greatest Minds&CREATIONS.His Arrangements&Groups Are as Legendary as His Piano&Composing Skills.Genius all the way Around.

As soon as BMG breaks up the $400 24-CD Centennial set that is highlighted in this collection, I'm making a beeline for the early Ellington. Between tracks #10 and #11 there is a notable degradation in sound quality (although no track in this collection has the bad sound of, say, "The Okeh Ellington"). Turning to the liner notes reveals that #1-#10 were digitally restored by Steven Lasker using CEDAR. These are the years 1927-1942. Hearing the 1932 Ellington band in true stereo on #4 is a revelation (they made two simultaneous recordings from two mics as an experiment). Oh, if they had only done this on all recordings of the period, for that future day when technology could utilize the second tracks. I'm looking for music to play for Swing dances, and from this collection, #3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are suitable. Let's hope BMG issues the 24 CDs separately to allow people access to their favorite Ellington periods.

I owned Heigh-Ho Mozart first, but the two are equally as wonderful. Everyone has their own favorites of the originals, but I find that these are beautiful in their own way. "Circle of Life" sounds so religious and spiritual, as it should. "Kiss the Girl" is even more alive than the original! "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is gorgeous and moving. "Some Day My Prince Will Come" is delightful. I find nothing to criticize about this CD of true art!

This is a wonderful CD! The music was beautifully written and preformed in a wide variety of classical music styles. Very relaxing to listen to - would be great to play for a young baby. I'm going to buy the Heigh-Ho Mozart soon, because I love this CD so much.

I agree with the reviewers above. The only thing I would add is that the quality of the recording is superb. Living overseas without access to hands-on music stores, I've unwittingly bought some really cheesy stuff through the mail...And as the grandma writes, if you think that this recording is only for children, you're in for a great surprise. I prefer this newer recording to Heigh Ho! Mozart! only because we listened to Mozart! every night at dinner for almost a year, and my rock'n' roll husband liked it almost as much as my 7-year-old...Hearing the music we grew up with rendered so refreshingly and well proves that when you go home again, sometimes it's even better than you remember.

What can I say about this recording that hasn't already been said? I am almost always a fan of Rubinstein's playing and this recording is a perfect example. Rubinstein brings out all the emotions of Brahms' music, from biting rhythmic passages to the most elegant phrase, this recording is truly inspirational!

Another reviewer rightfully remarked that Rubinstein's performance here isn't as thought-out as others are. Yet, he only benefits from that. Rubinstein's playing is of a tremendous spontaneity, in a way I hadn't heard before in the Brahms B flat concerto. There's never a lack of fire: for example, he plays the `marcato' sequences in the first movement with more panache than most others, and the last movement sounds like it runs on Spanish pepper. Even then, charm and grace are always present, both elements that are so characteristic of Rubinstein's playing in general. He plays the staccato notes after 3'38 in the first movement almost like dancing steps! Krips and the RCA Symphony are fine (but not outstanding) companions and they join Rubinstein in his wild ride. It's a very impressive performance that I definitely count among my favourites. The playing of the fillers is more aristocratic: less force and more poetry. But it works very well for me, especially in the Rhapsody which is one of the best examples of the `autumnal sadness' in many of Brahms' compositions. Rubinstein perfectly understands this atmosphere. Both Rubinstein and Brahms fans should definitely not miss this great disc.

This performance of the Brahms 2 was one of the first LP's I ever purchased. That disk has resided on my shelf since 1958, since which time it has been joined by more than 10,000 others, not to mention CD's, tapes, etc. Were I able to take only one of these thousands to a desert island, it would be this one, for in it I would be able to find all that I love in music: warmth, wit, elegance and beauty. The piece has been often recorded, and justly; but no performance has, or ever will equal this. The culture which produced these two great musicians also produced Brahms, and that culture is gone forever. Anyone seeking to experience its finest qualities need look no further.

Maybe, the most important aspect to remark respect this performance resides in the fact the whole approach given by Barenboim is the lack of that vapid romanticism that somehow has permeated the figure of Brahms. According the canons of the tradition (the tyranny of the memory) you must play this concerto without inquiring anything else.

But there is much more to seek. As a matter of fact, Kapell had played a monumental performance in the fifties, exploring the material with epic affirmation, vitality and mercurial tension.

In this sense, the lack of extreme slenderness is precisely what it gives it presence and originality, because it challenges the patterns and breaks the rules.

One of my favorite versions of these famous concertos.

I know of a DG Cto 1(Bohm-Pollini) + cto 2 (Abbado-pollini)+ tragic overture (Bohm) + haydn variations (Bohm), all with wiener philarmoniker. This release under Barbirolli is superior in every way.
Cto 1 under Bohm in surface is more pleasing because of speeds, faster, more comfortable. But brass is well behind the orchestra (not here) and Pollini is ... simply boring. Barbirolli is slower but more intense, and Barenboim really understand what romanticism and brahms is about. Pollini plays on automatic pilot, not Barenboim.
Cto 2 is another matter. Barenboim/barbirolli show the same virtues (which may compell you to buy this), but Abbado uses tempi and phrasing which gives the whole concerto a spring-like atmosphere, more spontaneous. Both are valid approaches. The wiener philarmoniker has all the warmth possible (its speciality) but the sound was badly taken, with muffling textures, lacking clarity (which is evident in Barbirolli's release). Pollini is perhaps better than with Bohm here; Barenboim also shows he was born to play these pieces.
The orchestral pieces are well interpreted by Barbirolli. In Tragic overture is better than Bohm, more spontaneous. But, although this virtue is evident also in Variations, Bohm shows a more contrasting landscape of the different episodes, and with much, much better sound. One would say Bohm is more majestic, more "smart" than Barbirolli. Barbirolli ins more fluid (more than a minute faster) overall, but with a more homogeneous approach. I would choose Bohm for the variations. But since Cto 1 has a bad pianist, a middle-of-the-road and too stately tragic overture, a badly recorded cto 2 and academic overture simply lacking, the clear winner is Barbirolli. It is interesting to see there are 2 Barbirolis here: the slow and trascendent ctos conductor (both are slower than the DG release) and the WP conductor, with faster tempi than Bohm, and perhaps as tracendent as with Barenboim, too.

The other reviewers have stated all the things I feel about this 1967 set of the two Brahms concertos from Barenboim and Barbirolli. These are grand, broad readings--the Second Concerto in particular is among the slowest on record. (Gilels and Jochum, also slow, sound ponderous and "official" by comparison.) Soloist and conductor give themselves time to phrase with great expressivity, but what really keeps the tempo from lagging is Barenboim's powerful pianism, abetted by EMI's under-the-lid miking. There's not a seocnd when the piano sound isn't two inches from your ears.

If you want to hear Brahms interpreted very personally, as if he really matters, this set is one of a kind.

I agree with the previous four reviewers on the performance. I have collected every Brahms Fourth on LP that I could get my hands on and this one is by far the most wonderful.

Unfortunately, the sound of the LP is not good. It sounds very similar to a digital recording with the attendant harshness and grainy sound. I have been desperately been searching for the original RCA Gold Label pressing of this performance in order to compare.

I'm sure if you just listen to CDs you could appreciate the sound, but for the higher resolution you can get from high-end vinyl playback, this pressing is not up to "audiophile" standards in my opinion.

Fritz Reiner once said this was about the best recording he ever made. One can hear why. This is a sturdy, no nonsense account of the Brahms Fourth, but it does not lack a certain attractive quality, especially in the second movement andante, one of the composer's most inspired creations. For one who is identified sometimes with a cool approach, Reiner shows, in this movement, a lovely sense of warmth. In the first movement, he proceeds more rapidly than Bruno Walter, thereby adhering more honestly to the composer's allegro non troppo indication. I'm not really criticizing Walter, since I see his approach as helping to sustain a rather autumnal presence. Reiner's firmer view projects strength, but it also conveys musicality. This sense of integrity is evident also in his presentation of the third and fourth movements where, occasionally, some other conductors are inclined to go "over the edge" by displaying excessive boisterousness or pushing things too far. Not Reiner. He maintains a splendid balance throughout, while providing both the requisite liveliness and feeling of forward momentum. There's virtually nothing to fault in this recording, which also demonstrates a pleasing ambience. This disc joins the list of my favorite Brahms Fourths which includes Walter, Klemperer, Weingartner and Abendroth.

Fritz Reiner, that tyrant of the conducting world, is usually known for his straight, business like manner of conducting. So here is a Brahms filled with warmth and emotion. What makes this performance so thrilling is that Reiner did not impose his Chicago Symphony sound on the Royal Philharmonic. The Royal Phil sounds warm and spacious. Chesky's remastering is outstanding. It sounds better than all of the modern digital recordings. This recording has a warmth and spaciousness not found in todays recordings. Reiner's brass is so strong and present. It's almost as if the engineers has placed microphones under the bells of the trombones! This recording was made in 1961, and shortly after this recording, Reiner suffered a heart attack and would pass in 1963. This recording serves as a great testimony to what great conductor Reiner was. Essential!!

While the period instrument approach to the Romantic period may not be to everyone's taste, these are still performances deserving to be heard by any lover of Brahms. Sir Roger, as always, is thoroughly dedicated in what he does, and communicates real vision to his wonderful band of players. His performance of the Third Symphony--to my ears, at least--seems the marginally better of the two offered here, although the second movement of the Fourth (a personal favorite) is really very special. Full marks, too, to the EMI engineeers who allow every detail to show in these recordings, while also framing them in a warm, welcoming, acoustic.

Perhaps not the first choice if you want just a single recorded performance of either of these symphonies: I am still quite partial to the Jochum cycle on EMI, using traditional orchestral forces, given very good 1970's sound, and a very affordable alternative as you also get the Academic Festival Overture, Tragic Overture, Hadyn Variations, and a very livable performance of the German Requiem by the late Klaus Tennstedt on a pair of 2-cd sets (4 cds in all), but priced the same as 2 cds.

What the Sistine Chapel fresco restorers have done for Michelangelo's masterpiece, Sir Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players have achieved for Brahms' symphonies. A century's worth of lugubrious interpretive encrustations have been peeled away, and the musical compositions that Brahms heard in his heart as he wrote them, and the instrumental timbres that caressed his ears when the symphonies were performed by the orchestras of his day, are unveiled again in all their freshness, strength and glory. Thus Brahms emerges as the true classicist he believed himself to be --the grateful inheritor of a noble linneage traced through Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann-- distinct from such composers as Liszt and Wagner, whose Romanticisms he wished to avoid.
In his notes accompanying the recording, conductor Norrington speaks persuasively of the benefits derived from observing the musical practices of the Brahms-era orchestra, performance traditions that have been vastly altered or lost in these intervening 130 years. We know from musician-writers of that time the precise balance and positioning of strings, woodwind and brass instruments in the orchestra (giving more equal weight to the wind sonoroties than is heard in today's symphony; balancing the violins on both the right and left sides of the stage) the construction of the instruments used (gut, not steel strings; less complicated winds; smaller-bored brass; leather-headed timpani) and playing techniques (judicious use of vibrato, portamento, and rubato; livlier tempos.) The revived richness, energy and clarity are heard immediately, thanks to the polished skills of the London Classical Players and the natural, full-bodied yet detailed sound captured by EMI's technicians. For years I had wondered why Brahms' chamber music possessed a vitality that appealed to me, while his symphonies seemed to be ponderous and labored by comparison. Now I realize that these large-scale masterworks were skillfully imbued by Brahms with the same brilliance and excitement, yet on an even greater scale, and I feel genuine gratitude toward Norrington and his "band" for bringing this music to my appreciation. Just as some art historians may have faulted the fresco restorers for "colorizing" Michelangelo's painting when they merely stripped away the grime that clouded those dazzling images, some musicologists may criticize these performers for revealing Brahms' symphonies in their unencumbered vigor. But in my opinion, this music now soars on eagle's wings.

I attended a week-end long Brahms Festival with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Norrington conducted all four Brahms' symphonies over the weekend as well as lecturing on his approach to Brahms. I own and know by heart Bruno Walters early 60's recordings of the symphonies and also his 1954 recording of the German Requiem.

Back to the Norrington performances I heard. They revealed aspects of the smphonies I had never heard. It was a revelation. I rated these albums unheard only to get this, I hope, on user comments. It may be I agree with Hurwitz after hearing the recordings--unavaiable as I write this. But from the performances I heard, I doubt very much I would agree with Amazon's critic's opinion.

I'm going to search record shops as a result of Hurwitz's critique to see what-is-what in my opinion.

Simply that! If you like Brahms where the woodwinds are playing at a pitch different from the strings, then *this is for you*. For myself, I found at least half of the piece to be excruciatingly unlistenable. For example, take the first few minutes of the slow movement. Much of the clarinet solo is audibly sharp.

I am a pianist and harpsichordist with considerable experience in tuning my own instruments, so I do know when things are in tune. I am rather flummoxed why no-one would notice the obvious problem with this performance. Perhaps most listeners are used to accepting orchestras which play out of tune.

Still, even if we agree to neglect insignificant details like that, I can't agree that Walter's interpretation has much to recommend it. Unlike his fleet-footed Third, much of his Fourth is turgid and heavy, giving an impression of wading through treacle. It simply refuses to go anywhere. The tempos as such are not that slow, the problem is that Walter's rhythm and accentuation are vague and feeble.

So what to do? Well, Walter is good enough if you don't know this symphony at all and want a rough idea of it. But the following conductors either get better orchestral playing, or more convincing interpretation, or both:

Karl Bohm (VPO), John Barbirolli (Halle or VPO), Adrian Boult (LPO), Rudolf Kempe (Munich), Otto Klemperer (Philharmonia), Istvan Kertesz, Rafael Kubelik, Antal Dorati...

And they are all better recorded. The difference is that Walter happened to be with The Great Recording Company CBS, who evidently spent all the money on promotion when they should have spent it on hiring a half decent orchestra.

This performance has been a staple of the recorded Brahms repertoire, since it first appeared in vinyl. Now, having been reincarnated again and again, it has finally reached SACD disc in a new transfer that lets its special magic into your very own listening room once more, removing yet another sonic veil that you hadn't before realized was scrimmed between you and the music.

First, one must admit that the huge sonic purpose of this SACD transfer is that you can appreciate what the conductor and orchestra are doing in this symphony. Uniquely, Bruno Walter offers us an example of an almost lost art, with his flexible tempos. While other conductors slow down or speed up in exaggerated and will-o-the-wisply inspired readings; Bruno Walter tempos are inexorably wedded to the underlying harmonic structures of the symphony and its musical argument or narrative. Neither do Walter and the orchestra slight those soaring melodies, whether sung out fully on strings or on woodwinds or both.

Hearing all this again, you realize how indebted Bruno Walter must have been to the Great Forebear, Furtwangler. Who can fail to be grateful that Bruno achieved his own special autumnal glory in this most tightly organized work? It is a performance by a conductor who has loved the music over many decades, earned his heartfelt emotional chops, and managed to illuminate the high intelligence that Johannes Brahms had as a man and as a composer.

Supposedly, Arturo Toscanini once dismissed Bruno Walter's interpretive genius by saying, something like: "Oh, Walter. Well, when he hits somethings nice, he just melts." Clearly, on the evidence of this cherished recording, the charges are false or mistaken, indeed. Bruno Walter and the orchestra show us inner fire, and inner strength. Even if SACD has hardly yet begun to make hifi news with its multichannel capabilities, this stereo disc will remain a treasure, no matter how many channels the newer recorded performances get.

The surprise is not that this master tape finally made it to SACD. No, rather we must ask: where are the other three symphonies that Bruno Walter recorded, for the same label, with the same forces, in the same recorded era?

Considering the fact that the master tape has paid for itself, tenfold and more, it is absolutely shameless of Sony not to have made the other symphonies equally available. They say the slick international corporations who are the owners of these recorded archives don't ever listen to classical music any more; but just regard their holdings as property, as if all those master tapes were simply warehouses full of refrigerators, instead of almost priceless cultural and musical insight into the human condition.

Well, don't be that way. Get this SACD, returning to a day when both conductor and orchestra deeply believed that Brahms' fourth symphony meant something quite grand and quite alive, breathing the dramas and calms of all the large existential themes we demean when we classify music as "entertainment." Since these people were True Believers, hearing them again can help us understand a bit better, how and what and why they thought making music like this was a way of life and a higher calling.

Highly recommended. There are too many stars on show here to actually count.

This has long been a favorite among both music lovers and audio enthusiasts - a classic performance handsomely captured by Columbia's West Coast engineers in the early days of stereo recording. The SACD transfer is smooth and well-detailed, the sound stage broad but a bit lacking in depth perhaps. Recommended.

While this recording is performed well, after listening to Jacqueline Dupr�'s rendition of this piece it is hard to rate this performance with the full five stars. Dupr� takes the music to another level with even richer tones and smoother legatos. Another difference when comparing these two recordings is the coordination between the cellist and the accompanist. Dupr� played with her husband, the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. Those two connect at a much deeper level than the pair in Rostropovich's recording, who at times are clearly not together. However, this review is by no means intended as an affront on Rostropovich's clearly masterful abilities as a cellist. It is just that in the comparison of the two recordings, I feel that Ms. Dupr�'s passionate and more liberal style of play better suits this particular piece.

I have never cared much for Brahm's music. Yet, I play this cd over and over again. The music is glorious and because of this recording, I have started to sample more of his works. This is a cd truly worth owning.

The balance is not quite right, with the cello too prominent, but once I got used to that the performances started to take me over. Here we have two of the greatest classical interpreters of their time taking us into the special world of Brahms, and they had me thinking about the composer in a way I have not done in years. Most books and articles I have read about him have a lot to say about Beethoven, but I really doubt whether Brahms's music would have been much different if Beethoven had never lived. Both consciously and by instinct, Brahms was the guardian of the great German musical tradition embodied above all in Bach -- a tradition where pure 'absolute' music expressed itself through an intellectual apparatus of polyphonic and structural devices. Since Bach's time Haydn and Mozart had perfected for instrumental music a compositional system usually called the 'sonata' style. Beethoven had naturally picked this up, but what he forced on to it was a special dimension of highly personalised expression, and it is precisely this way of treating it that Brahms turned his back on. With him we are back, in his own deeply original way, to music using the composer to express ITself.

I seem to find that Brahms gets more instinctive understanding from performers than Beethoven does, and I believe quite simply that that is because he understands himself better than Beethoven does himself. Teetering on the verge of incoherence at times was all part of Beethoven's unique greatness, and it is not disrespectful -- quite the reverse -- to say so. I have heard far more good performances than bad ones of these two wonderful sonatas, and the special meaning these particular accounts have for me is not something that I felt at first hearing. When a pianist of very special and unusual gifts is aged 80 or so and has retained his technique and evenness of touch, when he has spent a lifetime developing an austere and uncompromising vision of the instrumental music that we normally think of as being the 'greatest', when he studies completely afresh the works he is to perform with the greatest cellist of the next generation, there is a good chance we are going to get something very special, and I do not believe I am imagining it. This is a totally unique artistic combination offering a very special -- not eccentric in any way but still very special -- insight into a composer that many of us know by heart without really getting our minds round the phenomenon he represents. This record is a milestone in my musical pilgrimage and maybe it will be in yours.

Walter recorded the Brahms Second and Third in 1960, near the middle of his late studio career in Los Angeles. In terms of health, attentiveness, and physical powers, this was a variable time for him, and it shows. Walter is near his peak with the Third Sym., which has real thrust and vigor but also great musical coherence. Walter was a brash conductor of Brahms before his late old age, and here he returns to form. The Columbia Sym. sounds fairly strong and at moments inspired, but the recording is overly bright.

The same can't be said completely of the Second Sym., a much-loved recording that has thin, ragged string playing, made worse by brittle, shallow recorded sound. The scraopy ensemble is in aid of a leisurely and not very alert reading on Walter's part. True, there's a general air of geniality and warmth, but that only goes so far. I loved this recording forty years ago, and at moments in the lyrical slow movement it cast its spell again, but still I find that it's fading fast. Even so, this CD is well worth hearing for the Third Sym., which sparks recollections of Walter at his best.

Symphony No. 3:
"Original" is always a moniker used to described Brahms' Third, and it's surprising how the description still holds up today. Whereas most composers use the symphonic form to express highly epic themes (a la Beethoven, Mahler, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich et al.), the Hungarian composer among German and Slavic titans presents a surprisingly intimate and peaceful vision with his Third, surely one of the greatest of symphonies. Bruno Walter, after decades of working closely with Mahler's music, brings a level of concentration unmatched by any other conductor to bring together the disparate four movements of a work that threatens to become unglued at any moment's notice. Walter's vision is understated and unforced, and perhaps a little too detached to some ears (like mine), but its gentle power takes over the most casual listener. This is a piece that struggles throughout to resolve the turbulence and tension within to find that ultimate state of peace - Brahms, meanwhile, gives us plenty of gorgeous melody and orchestration along the way - and Walter succeeds masterfully to capture the drama. Furtwangler and The Berlin will always be my favorite for this, but all in all, a classic performance. ****1/2

Other References: Top Recommendation from Gramophone, Rough Guide, Jim Svejda's Classical Guide, Penguin Guide; High Recommendation from Classical Music: Third Ear


Symphony No. 2:
Brahms' Second is a great work in itself, though not as landmark as the Third, but many a connoisseur's favorite among Brahms' symphonies. Walter's work here may be even greater than on No. 3. Finely detailed, full of color and with perfect weight - it is a very mature interpretation. His understanding is deep and he is in complete control, seamless from one movement to the next. The Columbia Symphony, no great orchestra, responds with some of their best playing. Walter could even make you believe you're listening to The Vienna Phil - and that's saying a lot. Much is made of comparing this to Beethoven's Sixth, and if we're talking about richness in melody, genius in orchestration, having a rustic feel, surprising us with its occasional minuet-dance rhythms and finishing off with a grand final movement that thrills and leaves you breathless - sure, the comparisons ring true. But make no mistake, Brahms is a true original. *****

Other References: Top Recommendation from Gramophone, Rough Guide, Penguin Guide

*In both accounts, Sony has done a superb job in the sound remastering to bring more body and clarity to the orchestra as compared to the original CBS releases.*

I remember seeing Bruno Walter's Columbia Symphony recordings of Brahms Symphonies on LPs in the 1970s, and became more familiar with them when a college student, 1977-81. Walter was born in 1876, so was 21 in 1897 when Brahms died: their lives overlapped, and Walter, a product of the late Romantic age and student of Gustav Mahler(1860-1911), applies the needed affection and emotion to his interpretations of Brahms Symphonies.

There was a New York Philharmonic Brahms cycle conducted by Walter in the 1950s, and he conducted all 4 Brahms Symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic and other orchestras in the earlier years of his career. Walter's name then, is authoritative in these works.

I especially like his affectionate treatment of Symphony 2: every phrase is caressed with just the right amount of needed expression and affection, yet he never overdoes it. IV moves along, but not as quickly as some other conductors, such as Steinberg with the Pittsburgh Symphony (Command LPs or MCA CD, from about 1988). Symphony 3, while revealing a few slight flaws, is done "con amore" (with love) and IV really blazes in the development section: the trombone chords will lift you out of your chair. The sound in both symphonies is very good late 1950s stereo, with rich mid range, clear highs, and strong bass.

I also like Walter's recordings of Brahms 1 and 4 (some feel 4 is over rated, but I find it charming). I believe these, along with Karl Bohm's 1975 Vienna Philharmonic cycle (Deutsche Grammophon 3 CD set), to be the best recordings of the Brahms Symphonies available in the US today.

It's very unusual finding customer reviews that publicly bash the editorial reviews given for a particular CD. It's even more unusual when an editorial review is being bashed while it's completely justified in it's criticism. I myself am a profound Bernstein fanatic, but even I have to admit that these Brahms performances are getting in the way with the music, up to a point of total deprivation.

'Highlight' of the set is the unbelievable slow first movement of the Third which rather sounds like a truck riding on square wheels. Quite frankly, I was shocked. There's no flow whatsoever and to make matters worse, Lenny insists on adding the repeat, so we are faced by the same slow and stumbling experience. Quite unbearable. The second symphony fares better, but not by much, whilst the First and Fourth offer the same liabillities presented in the Third. The Concertos and Overtures are easily dispensed with.

I do not like giving Lenny's efforts less than satisfactory recommendations, but this is practically the first and only time I ever had to give just one star for his recordings. The fault quite clearly doesn't lie at editorial reviewer David Hurwitz' feet, but all the more at Bernstein's, which famed collaboration with the - to my humble opinion - extremely overrated Vienna Philharmonic, is often as indifferent or reluctant to play anything they do not particularly like.

However, It's a good thing, mind you, that inferior recordings exist. They bring out the best in those recordings that really belong at anyone's top list. In that perverse way, Bernstein's Brahms is quite useful.

I heard these when they were first released and my response was "OH GAWD!" Look, whether you like it or not Bernstein degenerated into a first-class kook in the later part of his life, when he was working for DG. Talk to anybody who knew him back then. His mannerisms, as I've learned from long hours with genuinely mannered yet coherent conductors like Furtwangler, are mannerisms. He was like a tripped-out hippie guru that everyone mistakes for a genius for all the wrong reasons; largely because he's convinced himself he's a genius. There was little I liked about these ponderous and portentious dinosaurs or anything else of his from that era and I'll go to the mat with any critic that says otherwise. His earlier recordings of everything were less glossy but much better. By this point in his career he was as far from Brahms as the Moon is from the Earth--with all that implies.

Please look around at plenty of other Brahms interpretations before getting all slime'd on this one. Klemperer, Jochum, Skrowaczewski, Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Furtwangler, Wand, Neville Marriner on Hanssler, dozens of others; ANYBODY but this freak and that Deutsche zombie von Karajan! Wander in that quieter, saner, more responsible Brahms realm and then, instead, if you really want to drop acid, get naked, and run through the woods screaming like a loon come back to these recordings and knock yourself out.

David Hurwitz overstates his objections, but it's true that for many listeners Bernstein's Brahms cycle from Vienna is overwrought. At this period in his career Bernstein tried to wring emotion from every bar of music; when he succeeded, audiences at his concerts felt that he came closest of any living conductor to recreating music as if it was being composed before their very eyes.

But his intense involvment works less well on records, in part becasue we attend concerts with more focus and concentration than we give to listening at home. These CDs can sound overcooked, and the tempi are undoubtedly slow. In the Fourth Sym., for example, Bernstein is slower in every movement than my versios by Klempeerer, Karajan, Kleiber, and Furtwangler. I don't own any Brahms from Celibidache or Knappertsbusch, two committed slow pokes, but Bernstein is in their vicinity.

If you connect with his intensely personal and involving style, then Bernstein''s cycle will appeal to you. There is no other conductor outside of Furtwangler who approaches Brahms so emotionally. But if your ideal is Mackerras, Szell, or Harnoncourt, all fine Brahmsians of a cooler breed, this cycle might be poisonous.