Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Carlos Kleiber (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Carlos Kleiber
• Composer: Johannes Brahms
• Audio CD (May 12, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000006NXP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,706 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BRAHMS,J.
Title: SYM 4
Street Release Date: 05/12/1998
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL COMPOSERS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique listening journey into the heart of darkness, September 27, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (Audio CD)

Kleiber's interpretation, as always, is unorthodox and puts it in a different category from the rest--the Kleiber category. This famous award-winning recording is one to keep alongside the your other Brahms 4 recordings--perhaps not your main recording, just the most powerful and riveting. It's a cliche, but once you start listening, nothing can distract you from following Kleiber all the way to the end. However, if you are not already familiar with this piece, I would not recommend Kleiber as the introduction to Brahms Symphony No. 4. Get another one first and then compare it to this one. You'll then see how Kleiber chooses to forsake the Romantic librato altogether with his trademark "clipped" phrasing and instead draws the listener into the underlying structure. At first one might think this is a emotionally "detached" reading, but paradoxically, it is actually the most passionate performance available. The CD cover photo shows how Kleiber really got into the dark mood of this terrifyingly tragic masterpiece. This is truly a listening experience unique in the world of classical music recordings.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerfully compelling performance, June 27, 1999

By 

pm444 "pm444" (Okemos, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (Audio CD)

The Amazon reviewer accurately identifies what makes this recording unique and indispensable with the phrase "cumulative power". No other recording I have heard is so compelling in this respect. The listener is caught up from the beginning and totally involved until the end. Kleiber does not attempt to soften or tame the music. Rather, he offers an interpretation that embraces the score in all of its awe-inspiring beauty.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HMMMMM!, July 15, 2004

By 

Bogdan Iliescu (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (Audio CD)

Well, it is amazing what this recording has done among melomans as the reactions here prove it. And one thing is certain that this is no usual Brahms recording. On the contrary is a pretty remarcable happening in the recorded music history.

Now, let us consider the time of its appearance. It is 1981, some good years after almost all mentioned here as real Brahms achievers, at least on disc, were gone. Neither Furtwangler, Walter, Schuricht or Mengelberg were amongst us for a while then. So this recording came, in my opinion on a very dry land as far as good Brahms interpretations were considered. I might upset some here but Karajan and Abbado are far from understanding enough of Brahms to be real contenders here (Karajan judged well that the strings of Berliner can make a very beautiful sound with parts of this compositions). Giulini was doing a fine job even though he wasn't able to go really to the heart of this music.

So, here comes mister Kleiber who makes a new case for Brahms as an outstanding composer. A recording that entered the Big League completely worthy. All the sense, drama and music of the symphony were there, the Wiener played superbly (as they do not all the time). Kleiber masters the music and his orchestra, his control is complete and as usual his artistic intelligence takes out in the open all what is burried within the notes of this symphony. And he does it so energetically with such crispness and control, as many mentioned here. And I think that is where the whole thing suffers from my point of view.

It is true that Brahms' music is tragic and full of human passions and conflincting feelings. But can you really see the big beared man as being so crisp, so precise in his burst of energy, so "modern" lets say? I cannot. And that's why I am missing in this recording the warmth and deep yet intense and demanding expression of "humanity" you find in Walter or the very natural and less controled yet more powerful dramatic accents you find in Furtwangler. For me, here, between these two, one can find the ultimate expression of Brahms, as a complete musical and human experience.

Mr Kleiber gets four stars for understanding and expressing everything so well, with such perfection but is denied the last star for being to perfect and calculated. Briskness is not something that helps in Brahms in my opinion. As well as two focused energy.

But I have to agree with some of the reviewers. Try to listen as many recordings as possible to get the one that really "sings Brahms" to you