Customer Reviews

Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Beethoven: Egmont Overture

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

 

 

After the loss of their long-time music director, Sir Thomas Beecham (March, 1961), the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra embarked on a series of recordings of classical music's warhorses in 1962 for Reader's Digest. These included big-name conductors such as Reiner, Jascha Horenstein, Charles Munch, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Adrian Boult, and maybe another name or two I cannot remember. This recording was available only in the Reader's Digest box set until it made it briefly on RCA's Gold Seal budget LP label in the late 1970's - early 1980's. It took the small enterprising label of Chesky to obtain the rights and reissue this recording and some of the other Reader's Digest recordings on CD, and the results are interesting.

While a great recording performance-wise, recording producer Charles Gerhardt's and engineer Kenneth Wilkinson's approach toward recording Reiner in London's Walthamstow Town Hall is significantly different than Richard Mohr and Lewis Layton in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. There is a decidedly more distant perspective adopted by the Englishmen than their American counterparts. While this does simmer down the large orchestral sound of Mohr/Layton, the one advantage is that a bit more spatial clarity and proper aural perspective among greatly-contrasting instruments (such as a trombone vs. a flute) is realized.

The difference between the regular Chesky CD and their gold CD as far as this recording is concerned is minimal, compared to two silver and gold CD Reiner/CSO recordings by RCA that I have of the 1954 Zarathustra and Pictures at an Exhibition. In these two Chicago recordings the difference between the silver and the gold CDs, is more pronounced (with the gold being better) in the Mohr/Layton approach to recording than in the Gerhardt/Wilkinson approach.

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!!

played like you've never heard it before!

It sounds like a really young person on the podium, what with all the fire that the Royal Phil gives. But it's not all cinder and ashes: there are some surpassingly beautiful moments.

The tempi are quicker than in a lot of recordings--or at least they sound that way. If memory serves, Andre Previn's outing on Telarc with the same orchestra is a bit slower (and also a beautiful performance worthy of collection) and relaxed, as was Barbirolli in Vienna. In some ways, the performance recalls Mackerras's pioneering set on Telarc, tempo-wise.

I have Kleiber in this work too, with Vienna (although that's on Exclusive instead of the more common DG), and he is also fabulous. But my favorite is this recording. At least as of today!

The taughtness is energizing, and I find the observation of the Amazon reviewer to be quite true: The orchestra does indeed play like their lives counted on it. In fact, it sounds like they were terrified! This comes through in some of the string playing, which is beautiful, but sometimes lacking a little finesse in ensemble (yes, I know, this is Reiner conducting--imprecision is usually not the term one connotates with him!).

The engineering is excellent stereo. A great addition!

The reviewer below has summed up the greatness of this recording rather well, but it bears restatement.
Reiner was retiring as music director of the Chicago Symphony after recovering from a massive heart attack, when he went to London to make this recording for Reader's Digest. He was supposed to have also recorded the Tchaikovsky 5th but ill health again intervened. We should count our blessings we have this.
Charles Gerhardt, the producer had worked with Toscanini and was one of the most celebrated men in his field. He would later himself conduct the Classic Film Score Series for RCA, which resuscitated the reputations of Korngold, Rosza, and Herrmann among others and led the way for film music entering the accepted concert repertoire.
Kenneth Wilkinson "Wilkie" was the engineer for the series, coming from Decca. If he ever made a technically so-so recording I've never heard of it. His work always came alive when played back.
The Barbirolli Sibelius 2nd was in the Reader's Digest anthology which I once owned, and so were discs by Kempe, Fistoulari, Dorati, Pretre, Munch, Krips, Rene Leibowitz, Malcolm Sargent, Adrian Boult, the great Jascha Horenstein, Oscar Danon and a few others I'll probably remember later. It was a very special set.
This disc and the Barbirolli came in for the most critical acclaim. Reiner claimed this symphony was his favorite musical 'calling card', and it sounds it here. Illness or the post-Beecham RPO seemd to humanize him. There was the precision you expected from Reiner, and also notable warmth that was occasionally lacking back in Chicago.
Interestingly, while the reputations of Karajan, Solti, and even Szell (great martinets of the baton) have faded with time, Reiner remains one of the most celebrated conductors of the Twentieth Century in every accounting.
Though the gold Chesky disc is not greatly different from the silver. I don't miss the Leibowitz Egmont overture tacked on to the later, good though it is. It's just great to have this wonderful account of Brahms 4th period.
Now that Chesky has let these recordings out of print, I hope someone will make the Reader's Digest recordings Gerhardt and Wilkinson made so special available again.
(It would be nice if they threw in the Leibowitz rendtion of Pictures at an Exhibition as well. It's been as scarce as Liberal Republicans since it was made, and this unique rendition is rather fun to hear. )
Snap this Brahms 4th up if another copy comes available.
Great Brahms. Great Reiner. Great Music-making.

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 also possesses a certain attractive quality, especially in Brahms' inspired second movement andante, where Reiner reveals 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 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.

If you are like me and have been looking for an authoritative Brahms 4th to fill the gap in your collection, look here! The well-regarded sets (i.e. Karajan 1964) seem to fall short on this work. I have some liking for Klemperer although I find it a bit square.

I don't totally buy into the 'tragic' aspects of this work. I was looking for a powerful and driving, not-to-introspective performance.

The previous reviewers are correct. This is a great recording and is probably the reference for all others. Thanks to whoever it was that resurrected this from the Reader's Digest pile. I would not have believed it came from there....

**4 1/2 stars**
This is a great Brahms 4, and is easily my favorite Reiner recording (I'm no great fan). Often proclaimed a no-nonsense interpreter sine qua non, here he displays a vitality that leads to one of the most exciting Brahms 4ths in the catalog. However, certain elements of his interpretation strike me as unconventional to say the least and they are worth noting. He takes the first movement too fast for my liking - actually extremely fast, as he's very close to Toscanini, who comes in at a blazing 10'54" to Reiner's 11'11", making it one of the fastest on disc and the fastest stereo account I'm familiar with by a wide margin. Unfortunately while propulsive and energetic, I find some of the thematic depth is lost as a result, although it certainly builds to an exciting climax. Conversely, he takes the Andante moderato at a very slow clip, almost as slow as the Giulini VPO account's 13'06", at 12'40". Here it works well, though I sense some blurred lines from the strings which detract slightly from the architectural grandeur of this movement. That said, there is much warmth and beauty to be found which overrides the technical problems. The scherzo is taken at almost ideal tempo, though I could use just a bit more momentum to bookend the swift opening Allegro, and following such an expansive slow movement. The finale however is executed to perfection, with a great deal of aggressiveness and ideal tempo selection. There is drive and attack here, with fierce horn calls during the introduction & recapitulation that add quite a bit of fire. This certainly is an exciting 4th if nothing else. I do find things just a little TOO straight forward at times, but that approach can be very satisfying in Brahms and it's largely the case here. For their part the orchestra does well, much less rigid than the precision of the CSO, and I find that their tone and sound are warmer as well...probably why I like this particular Reiner recording best of all. Still, the Royal Phil. will never be confused with the VPO or Concertgebouw and there are moments of less-than-perfect ensemble work, though never to the detriment of the music.
It probably sounds like I hate this performance, huh? Well, in spite of certain idiosyncrasies, everything just works, and the results are extremely satisfying, presenting a slightly different yet wholly valid take on this masterpiece. I might add that beginners probably will not want to start here - Klemperer, Karajan, Solti or Walter are probably safer bets.
The recording is first rate, a warm and full 1960s analog - much better than what Reiner ever had at RCA. All parts are easily heard, which is of course very important for Brahms. I'd compare it favorably to Decca sound of a similar vintage, which is very good indeed. And Kudos to Chesky for rescuing such a strong performance.
I'd give this 4 1/2 stars stars because, and ONLY because people here are declaring this the "grail" stereo 4th. And while it is a great recording, please make sure to investigate some of the other great stereo readings of this symphony which feature slightly more conventional - though no less inspiring - interpretations compared to what's presented here. I would recommend additionally looking into these alternatives: Schuricht/BRSO, Ansermet/OSR, Van Beinum/RCO, Dorati/LSO, Walter/CBSO and Kleiber/VPO among many others.
That said, I'd not want to be without this recording, but if you asked to pick one it would probably be the either the Ansermet, Dorati or Van Beinum (I'm leaning towards the Dorati - for now). My point is, this is a worthy addition to any Brahms collection, but it should not be viewed as the end-all be-all of Brahms 4ths.

The first thing you'll notice upon first listening to this Brahms 4th is how unlike a lot of Reiner's Chicago recordings it sounds. He seems relaxed, while the RPO plays with all of their hearts & souls. This recording certainly deserves a spot on anyone's short-list of Brahms fourths, alongside Abendroth, Furtwangler, Weingartner, Klemperer, Walter & Carlos Kleiber. The Egmont is also very good, and the sound on both is good (great when compared with most of the above mentioned).

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.

With respects to Mr. Hurwitz, I don't think Reiner was able to scare the RPO enough, as they are just not up to the task at hand. Interestingly, their performance pales in comparison to the "pick up" Columbia Orchestra Bruno Walter called upon to complete his Brahms cycle. Aside from these technical issues, there are also those pesky interpretive problems. The first movement takes a decidely light hearted, brisk approach - an interpretive nuance badly matching what is essentially a more tragic, heroic themed composition. The second is nicely phrased and quite lovely. The fourth movement is marred by the oddly articulated and punctuated brass choral variation. What was Reiner thinking? The best 4ths remain Kleiber, Ashkenazy, Solti and Walter.