Customer Reviews

Brahms: The 4 Symphonies / Haydn Variations / Academic Festival & Tragic Overtures, Opp.80,81

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't even begin to describe just how unfair and inaccurate many of David Hurwitz's reviews for Amazon are! Usually, he praises Bernstein's works and saves his unqualified, immature remarks for Karajan and Abbado. But, my goodness, did he ever screw up when it came time to review Bernstein's Brahms! First of all, the movements are *not* twice as long. Some are a bit longer than usual, but Bernstein is not the only conductor to choose these tempi. Secondly, no matter how much you disagree with Bernstein's approach, it simply cannot be denied that these are moving, thought-provoking interpretations. The great conductor has most certainly *not* made a mess of Brahms--he has only conducted these symphonies in a way that Hurwitz doesn't like. The truth is, Bernstein does a fabulous job in realizing the chamber-like qualities of Brahms's symphonies, and the beautiful string section of the Vienna Philharmonic creates a layered almost transparent feeling, while plenty of attention is paid to the details in the wind sections. If David Hurwitz doesn't like this approach, that is fine--but he ought to allow the listener to decide just how enjoyable these CDs truly are, instead of carrying out is own agenda of personal taste. Finally, the fact is, many reviewers have given Bernstein's Brahms very high praise, including the "Bible" of classical music, the Penguin Guide. One notable book listed Bernstein's version of the 2nd symphony as its top recommendation, saying it was the most passionate since Beecham's. Only you can decide if you like these versions. But I hope you will bear in mind that Bernstein *always* brought his genius, passion, and intellect to every performance, and even though he obviously wasn't perfect at all times, it's *never* wise to completely dismiss him. And, speaking of dismissing--perhaps Amazon.com should save some face and consider dismissing David Hurwitz!

After having bought Brahms Symphony no. 1 individually, I had to buy the box set. Leonard Bernstein had recorded these symphonies before, but here he brings such raw emotional power to the symphonies, as well as the Haydn Variations and Overtures. DG has done an excellent job at recording these works. The digital sound is incredibly revealling with a full range of sound from top to bottom. I have a number of complete cycles of Brahms symphonies (i.e. Karajan, Abbado, Mackerras, and Solti). Although I love each cycle for various reasons, this one stands out particularly. The combination of forces between the Vienna Philharmonic and Bernstein produces a cycle of symphonies that remind you (if you've forgotten) just how incredible Brahms was as a composer.

More specifically, my favorite highlights in these symphonies are as follows: As I said before, the sheer power of the first that Bernstein creates encouraged me to buy the box set. The finale is built incredibly sustaining a tension that is hard to match. The III movement in the fourth symphony has to be one of the best played--technically and emotionally. It is what I call a 'rollicking good time'. The third symphony as a whole is a great performance as well.

This cycle is not the cheapest of Brahms symphony cycles, but it certainly is one of the very best. If you like how Leonard Bernstein conducted later in his life (a little slower with a heavier hand), then you're bound to love this set. Even if you don't care for the performances, you'll appreciate the beauty of the recorded sound.

Without a doubt, this splendid set of recordings ranks with the Sanderling/Dresden Staatskapelle cycle as two of the finest Brahms symphonies cycles ever recorded. These are passionate, inspired performances where Bernstein succeeds in illuminating the complex emotional energy of Brahms' scores. Under his baton the Vienna Philharmonic responds as though it was a chamber orchestra, playing with ample warmth and brilliance. I have seen repeated references to Bernstein's version of the 2nd symphony as the definitive recording in the Penguin Guide and elsewhere; his versions of the other symphonies and overtures are superb too. Do not heed David Hurwitz's advice. If you are looking for a definitve set of Brahms' symphonies, then this has to be it.

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 this intense involvement works less well on records, in part becasue we attend concerts with more sense of occasion than we have 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 any of my versions by Klempeerer, Karajan, Kleiber, and Furtwangler. I don't own Brahms done by Celibidache or Knappertsbusch, two committed slow pokes, but Bernstein is in their vicinity.

If you already connect with his intensely personal style, Bernstein's cycle will appeal to you. There is no other conductor outside of Furtwangler who approaches Brahms with such a heated emotional charge or who brings out so much struggle and suffering. But if your ideal is Mackerras, Szell, or Harnoncourt, all fine Brahmsians of a cooler breed, this cycle might be poisonous.

For the past 25 years since I've been colecting classical music recordings, getting to know and appreciate Brahms has taken a long time. Brahms doesn't seem to have the more immediate appeal of Beethoven, Mozart or Tchaikovsky. He is often described as "thick", even though he was one of the "Romantics".

Yet, little by little certain pieces of Brahms have indeeed grown on me. This set of four CDs is a good way to obtain the four Brahms symphonies all at once. My advise is to listen to each symphony a few times before moving on to the next one. It takes a while to really get the feel of the craftmanship and the warmth and tenderness underneath these ostesibly austere works. It is like a fine wine or delicate pastry that must be savored.

The first symphony is powerful, passionate and quite grand. The second is a bit more pastoral. The third is very fine and classy. The fourth is also very passionate and actually somewhat emotionally charged (especially in the first movement).

Of course, the thing about Brahms is that he is utterly unprogramatic. The music is not meant to stand for wind or rain or mountains or "the witch's dance" or what-have-you. For that reason, it may be difficult for some people to get a hold of Brahms. You have to let the layers of music talk to you.

Maestro Bernstein is, of course, very good at unlocking every morsel of flavor and goodness from these symphonies (perhaps a bit too much so for some listeners). It all depends upon what you like, but I think that Mr. Berstein's adds a touch of style to these pieces. Indeed, Bernstein's sense of grandness is in the vein of Bruckner or Mahler.

If that "grand late Romantic" fashion appeals to you, then this is a good set of Brahms symphonies for you.

Comparisons:

Symphony #1 (Karajan)
Symphony #2 (Guilini; Gunther Wand)
Symphony #3 (Fritz Reiner)
Symphony #4 (Charles Munch)

I find the writings of David Hurwitz to be patronizing and offensive. His reviews on Amazon (which are intended to be opionated and educational) all too often wind up being irritating and uninformative, replete with sweeping over-genralizations that leave me wondering if Mr. Hurwitz has ever actually listened to a single CD he has reviewed. They are also annoyingly predictable: endless praise for Richter and Mutter, etc., endless disdain for any historic or period performances. He criticizes orginality in performances and, unfortunately in many cases, the home reviewers at amazon sheepishly agree with whatever he says. I quote from his review of Goodman's Beethoven cycle, the greatest period recording of these masterworks, "These performances are so terrible that it's hard to believe anyone took them seriously...Utterly grotesque". Isn't this a little harsh for recordings that have been highly praised elsewhere and have recieved a home review average of 5 stars? Rather than pointing out the positives of an alternative approach to a piece, the proud Mr. Hurwitz has fallen to downright slander, while he elsewhere desperately panders his idols with repetitious adulation. There are many examples of this an Amazon. I also suspect that his rather bourgeois values have infected the whole "essential CD's" section of Amazon, which has the potential to be highly informative to listeners new to classical music.

In my mind, one of the interpreter's challenge in symphonic music composed by the master is to infuse the score with life. If played note for note as written, the music will only become denser than it already is. My opinion is that the key lies in bringing expressiveness to such incredibly well-thoughtout and magnificently composed music. I see the music as a springboard for the musician to funnel his emotions and feelings into the cannon- and Bernstein does this remarkably well. So well infact, that these Brahms interpretations are very individualistic in that Bernstein is never shy to wear his heart on his sleeve. Sure, we all have preferences for different sets of recordings, but at least consider Bernstein's Brahms for its very emotional approach. Of course, if you're into very academic and strict Brahms, then forget this box and go somewhere safer- Haitink and Concertgebouw is not a bad one for the money either.

In my mind, one of the interpreter's challenge in symphonic music composed by the master is to infuse the score with life. If played note for note as written, the music will only become denser than it already is. My opinion is that the key lies in bringing expressiveness to such incredibly well-thoughtout and magnificently composed music. I see the music as a springboard for the musician to funnel his emotions and feelings into the cannon- and Bernstein does this remarkably well. So well infact, that these Brahms interpretations are very individualistic in that Bernstein is never shy to wear his heart on his sleeve. Sure, we all have preferences for different sets of recordings, but at least consider Bernstein's Brahms for its very emotional approach. Of course, if you're into very academic and strict Brahms, then forget this box and go somewhere safer- Haitink and Concertgebouw is not a bad one for the money either.

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.

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.