Customer Reviews

Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Haydn Variations

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This is classic George Szell. In fact, this performance of the Brahms 1st takes its place near the top of the heap amongst some very stiff competition: it is a great performance and an excellent addition to any collection, especially at mid-price. All the Szell discipline is on full display here- if you're looking for the a bit more overt emotion, try Bruno Walter or Otto Klemperer, as they both turn in ectsatic and soulful readings. Szell's take has a quicker, drier, and more immediate feel to it, but he totally makes it work: in my opinion that goes for just about everything he performed (there was a reason he is known for his precision). The Ormandy performances of the Hungarian Dances are equally rewarding, played with Philadephia's shining flourish. Classic.

For this reissue, the Sony DSD remastering process has very artfully restored the full range of sonics to this recording from the somewhat compressed original master. What an improvment! Highly recommended- let's hope Sony decides to give the rest of Szell's Brahms the same treatment.

Only Toscaninni led the Brahms First with more tension and drive, but the closest approximation is this classic Szell performance, which has been widely admired for over four decades. There has been a budget issue since 1991, in indifferent sound. As of August, 2006, there's this new DSD version in Sony's best remastering technique. Szell's condcuting, as always, is disciplined and devoid of rubato or sentimental softness. The secret when the reins are held this tight is to propel the music forward as if in one breath, never letting the stainless steel thread sanp.

It's an unconventional way to approach Brahms but a bracing one. Fortunately, Szell doesn't lapse into rigid time-beating: this reading is alive inside, full of dramatic events in every movement. The Cleveland Orch. plays with great power and transpaency, and the refurbished sonics are twice as good as they ever were on Epic lPs when this recording first appeared. Of a piece is Szell's highly controlled reading of the Haydn Vairations. Curiously, in both this version and the new reissue, Sony has tacked on five Hungarian Dances by Ormandy, which don't sound like they even come from the same planet as Szell's Brahms but make nice listening.

Warning...The Haydn Variations omits a repeat in the Theme that is present in the "Essential Classics" version. This version runs 17:02 and the EC versions runs 17:30. Download that version if you want the whole thing!