Customer Reviews

Brahms: String Sextets, Opp. 18 & 36 / Theme and Variations for Piano

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This two-disc set of the Brahms String Sextets brilliantly captures these beautiful chamber works. This digital recording from 1989 features the sextet of Yo-Yo Ma and Sharon Robinson on cellos, Isaac Stern and Cho-Liang Lin on violins, and Jaime Laredo and Michael Tree on violas. This Grammy-Winning CD helped to further popularize these chamber pieces, which were among the first of their genre when written in the 1860s. As Klaus Hafner states in his liner notes, "The self-assured, confident form of...[the] String Sextets...almost makes us forget that the composer was actually breaking new ground in chamber music...." And what makes this performance equally groundbreaking and remarkable is that the Ma/Stern/Laredo/etc group play with the same self-assurance and confidence. From the sublime opening measures of Op. 18, you know you are in for a treat. I have not heard other performances of these pieces, but I don't need to -- I can hardly imagine a better recording.

The only drawback to this title is that it is too short. The two Sextets combine for approximately 80 minutes, which is just barely too long for one CD. As a result, a 1991 recording of "Theme and Variations for Piano" (which is an arrangement of the second movement of the first string sextet) by Emanuel Ax is included. It is amazing how the variation for piano conveys a hopeful mood, while the second movement of the string piece has always struck me as maudlin. In any event, this piece is under eleven minutes long, so there is still plenty of room left over for other material to have been included. However, this is a minor shortcoming on what is overall an amazing album.

These are absolutely lovely and totally engaging performances of two of Brahms's most appealing works, full of melody and invention. The playing is technically excellent, with perfect ensemble, and a real feeling of the joy of performing among close friends in a perfect environment of give and take, which is the essence of chamber music, and what all great musicians always strive for. Either one of these works will make you smile even if you've had a really hard day, or at least will make it seem not so important. The cd by the Nash Ensemble might be a bit cheaper than this 2 cd set, but here, you also get Brahms's own arrangement for piano of the Gypsy variation movement from op. 18, well played by Manny Ax, which is a great filler. Good sound and general production, notes, etc.

These discs are quite satisfying; if the rating system here ranged from one to ten stars, I'd give them a seven. They belong in any collection of chamber music.

If you like these pieces, listen both to these readings and to those of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, on Chandos. Ma, Stern, and company give very American readings where the St. Martin ensemble's seem to me very British: the former being large, enthusiastic, robust, where the latter are more about understatement, balance, refinement. Both approaches work well, though I'd give the St. Martin disc eight stars to the seven here.

The two-star reviewer has had an idiosyncratic reaction. The tempos taken in both sextets are well within normal limits, and there's plenty of energy throughout. (He must be used to a beloved recording made by speed demons -- Heifetz and friends, perhaps?) Leaving that aside, I am in total agreemnt with everything Mr. Richman says in praise of these stellar performances. Going back to the days of 78s and Pablo Casals' summer festivals in the postwar era, Columbia/Sony made a commitment to chamber music that has built up a treasury of great performances -- these Brahms Sextets join that legacy.

The constant theme over the span of six decades was the use of virtuoso soloists coming together for the love of playing chamber music. In the Marlboro years the core group were European emigres centered around Casals, Rudolf Serkin and the Budapest Qt. They were updated by Ma-Stern-Ax, with just as briliant success (Isaac Stern bridges both eras, since he was there at the beginning). But be prepared for hearing highly individual musicians each striving for utmost expression. If you prefer the smooth, homogenized sound of groups like the Nash or Raphael ensembles, the varitety found here may sound a bit rough and ready.

Yet no one can dispute the sublime musicianship on these CDs. It may well be, as another reviewer says, that the Brahms Sextets have never received a more glowing, inspired reading.

When I purchased this CD, I was expecting something as perfect as the series of Brhams piano trios and quartets which are articulated around Isaac Stern (also at Sony). What a disapointment! The op 18 seems stretched to unbearable lengths, due to the used of extremly slow tempi. The allegro is not even moderato, the animato section (second theme of the cello, eg) is not animated... and so on. After 10 minutes of that, I was bored! Yes, the sound is beautiful, each line is well articulated, but it seemed to me this has nothing to do with the romantic and energetic work of a 25 year old Brahms! The syncopated rythm, which imparts the "swingy" feeling, was purposefully mollified. Same feeling with the third and fourth movement which is not at all grazioso... but sinister.

I found the opus 36 somewhat more pleasing, using more conventional tempi (yet still on the slow side), and with a gem : the third movement. There, the introverted, "aging" sound of Isaac Stern is perfectly complemented by all the others. It could drive you to tears.

This is the most outstanding recording of Brahms Sextets ever produced.It is superb in texture and clarity. The artists gathered here are, needless to say, the very best. The variations movement is superb. ... I highly recommend this recording.