Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Haydn Variations / Nänie [Import]

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Claudio Abbado (Conductor), Michael Steinberg (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Claudio Abbado, Michael Steinberg
• Composer: Johannes Brahms
• Audio CD (May 12, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Dg Imports
• ASIN: B000001GFV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,299 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spontaneous, exciting and beautiful performence, July 15, 2000

By 

Po-yu Sung (Tauyuan, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Haydn Variations / Nänie (Audio CD)

Brahms' 4th is an interesting work: very emotional atmosphere with a serious style. Abbado's reading successfully get balance of these two elements; the 1st mv. is beautiful, but also strong enough for the structure; BPO gave benefit to Abbado a lot in 2nd and 3rd mv., but they play incredibly in 4th mv. which is exciting and glorious. BPO proved again that Brahms symphonies are just a part of her.

This piece is highly valued in Japen recently, and replace Kleiber's distinguished recording as the first one on the critics voting list; the critics also referee this piece the best among Abbado's high quality Brahms series. Before Abbado's, Furtwaengler's sentimental live performance was admire in oriental world; than Kleiber's resolute but vivid(even a little frenzied in 3rd mv.) digital recording became Bible of the 4th. Abbado's 4th may not be so characterful like those two, and therefore is not so "extreme" like them. That might easily direct to ordinary, but I think Abbado avoid this kind of danger successfully. If you start listening to Brahms recently, I personally recommend Abbado's recording as your first choice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Way To Cap Off A Terrific Cycle!, March 29, 2006

By 

dv_forever (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Haydn Variations / Nänie (Audio CD)

I have to say that this Brahms symphonic cycle is the best thing Abbado has done in Berlin and this Brahms 4th is top of the line in nearly every respect. In all seriousness, since Karajan and Carlos Kleiber there haven't been too many great performances of Brahms, nice of Abbado to fill the gap.

I give this 4 stars because I think that Carlos Kleiber's famous version is still better than Abbado, even though Abbado gets much more beautiful playing from the BPO, more beautiful than Kleiber received from the Vienna Philharmonic. You should own both to compare and contrast.

The ultimate Brahms 4th, in my opinion and I think this can be backed up by the opinions of many, is Furtwangler's cataclysmic performance during World War II. You can find that baby in a Brahms set on the Music and Arts label. The final Passacaglia under Furtwangler is soul wrenching, something that Abbado, Karajan or even Kleiber simply can't deliver. But you do need a digital, modern recording and Abbado easily fills that spot, the sound Deutsche Grammophon gives him is better than the sound they gave Carlos Kleiber just a few years prior to Abbado's recording.

The fill-ups are great too, especially the rarely heard choral piece Nanie. So grab this CD, just don't forget about Furtwangler if you want to here transcendental Brahms.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine Brahms 4 that is not affected by minor demerits, September 7, 2002

By 

Yi-Peng (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Haydn Variations / Nänie (Audio CD)

Claudio Abbado made this recording of Brahms's symphonic swansong some time after he took up the baton in Berlin for a decade-long tenure with the orchestra. It is just about as strong as his other volumes in his cycle of Brahms symphonies despite having some noteworthy demerits that do not detract entirely from the listening experience. As always, Abbado elicits peerless playing from his Berlin ensemble, embellishing the Karajanesque sound of the orchestra to give a new yet traditional character to the playing and sound. And the DG recording, though not always consistent, is warm and atmoepheric, despite some slight clouding.

This fine CD has two fill-ups in the shape of the Haydn Variations and the raerly-heard Nanie. Both works hve parallels in the symphony, with the Variations hinting of the massive passacaglia finale to come and Nanie hinting of the mood of the symphony in both words and music. Although I feel that the Haydn Variations would make a more sensible fill-up for the Third Symphony (because of its more obvious parallels with that work), I find that both fill-ups are played and sung exceptionally well. Nanie shows the Berlin Radio Choir getting into the spirit of the work with their crisp diction and sense of feeling for the text of Schiller (who also penned the text of the Ode to Joy that Beethoven set in his Ninth Symphony.)

Now to the symphony. Abbado starts the first movement in good form, building upon the quiet opening to powerful effect until the power becomes the driving force of the movement. But even amidst the density of the argument, he still allows the lyricism of the quieter sections to shine through. In the second movement, the orchestra is on top form, and the wind solos are particularly telling, especially the warm and expansive horn soloise. The Scherzo, despite being played at a good tempo, may sound a little bit heavy to some ears, and may lack some rythmic spring, despite having evergy. This is where I find recording problems coming into play, because of the clarity of the sound, when the timpani gets drowned out and the detail of the textures is lost. But all is not lost for long, because Abbado moulds the sprawling finale into a movement as powerful as the first movement. The influences of Bach's passacaglias (and to some extent the Beethoven Eroica symphony) are keenly felt here, and despite the movement being played a tad slower than most performances, the pulse and driving force are well and stably maintained. The closing pages are forcefully wrought, and are enough to crown this entire performance (and for that matter this Abbado cycle of Brahms symphonies.)

In short, I find this a generally excellent performance of Brahms's symphonic swansong. Although in some places I find that Carlos Kleiber owns the work, I think that Abbado's competing DG performance is just as fine as that venerable recording. Plus, despite the clouding of the Festspielhaus, rather than the Philharmonie or the Jesus-Christus Kirche, DG has given us a generally consistent sound not only in the symphony but also in the well-chosen fill-ups. The booklet contains the text for Nanie in English and German, and an essay by Michael Steinberg that might be considered weaker than the rest of his essays for Brahms symphony CDs.