Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor; Haydn Variations [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Marek Janowski (Conductor), Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Marek Janowski
• Composer: Johannes Brahms
• Audio CD (August 28, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Pentatone
• ASIN: B000T5ELAG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,628 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2008

Conductor Marek Janowski has been a longtime dependable presence on the international scene; he has done significant work in Paris, Berlin and Dresden, Germany, among other cities, and his seemingly forgotten 1980s Ring cycle recording recently was proclaimed by Gramophone magazine to be the all-around first choice for Wagner's monument. Then comes this series of new, SACD standard-repertoire discs with his Geneva-based Suisse Romande orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony, where he's been an interim figure since Mariss Jansons' departure. And just what do we have here?

The Brahms/Pittsburgh recordings are never less than excellent, though in this oft-recorded repertoire that's not always enough. All the performances are marked by an extraordinary sense of singing line and brisk tempos, which are more of what the composer expected than the slower ruminations of recent times. The second is so lyrical as to seem somewhat uneventful; the third is many volts ahead on the electricity scale, and is by itself worth the price of the disc. Janowski's Symphony No. 1 is remarkably cogent and structure-minded, though the Haydn variations are just a notch above routine.

- David Patrick Stearns

Classics Today, February 2008

This is a splendid Brahms disc; really the only thing that prevents me from giving it the highest rating is the fact that there are already so many excellent performances of this music available. However, I can easily imagine this version becoming a favorite. The performance of the symphony is broadly in the style of Wand's two RCA versions, or perhaps also Dohnányi (Teldec). In other words, it plays up the "classical side" of Brahms, Toscanini style, but there's nothing remotely tight-lipped or underplayed here when compared to the more wild-eyed, "romantic" versions.

Marek Janowski is particularly adept in generating rhythmic tension in the outer movements thanks to his vigorous handling of accompanimental textures, which never sound thick or heavy. The Pittsburgh Symphony plays magnificently, and with great sensitivity. In the Andante the strings sound luminous, and the delicious third movement is perfectly paced and phrased. It all culminates in a really brilliant finale: the closing pages have a positively physical lift.

The Haydn Variations are just as fine. The Pittsburgh winds sound absolutely radiant here, while Janowski characterizes each variation with real personality. The final passacaglia builds effortlessly to the work's joyous conclusion. Pentatone's engineers have done an excellent job capturing the orchestra in a nicely warm acoustic that permits a clear delineation of texture without undue spotlighting. Brahms' occasionally prowly writing for contrabassoon, for example, has presence without turning into a concerto for the instrument. In short, this is beautiful Brahms; if you want this music in fine multichannel sound, you can buy with confidence.

--David Hurwitz

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brahms Recorded Live and in Rich SACD Sound, September 7, 2007

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor; Haydn Variations [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

After more than 100 years of recordings there are literally uncountable numbers of recordings of the Brahms First Symphony and of the Variations on a Theme of Haydn. In my own collection I was able to find fourteen versions of the First Symphony ranging from Weingartner's 1938 account to Marin Alsop's 2006 recording with the Bournemouth Symphony. So the question is, why do we need a new recording? Well, there are a few reasons one might want another, e.g., a fresh perspective that brings a view to the music that no one else does and a recording that uses cutting edge technology and gives the music a more lifelike sound. These qualities are present in this recording by Marek Janowski leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Also, I tend to prefer the excitement of live recordings and this CD was indeed recorded live in concert in Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall. (Parenthetically, let me say it is a delight to find the Pittsburgh -- and indeed any American orchestra -- recording again. It has been almost ten years since the PSO made a recording.)

In all fairness, I had some real doubts about this performance of the symphony the first time I listened to it. It seemed too fast in spots; I found myself wondering what the rush was and thus found myself resisting the sweep that this approach gives the music. But on rehearing it seemed more and more appropriate to the kind of playing the PSO brought to it. This is partly a function of the clear recorded sound. One gets the luxuriance of Brahms's orchestral textures coupled with such clarity that inner voices are heard in a way that is unusual, something that really grew on me. Somehow Janowski and the PSO convey the music's blended richness while also exposing its inner details. The Pittsburgh is an orchestra in great shape, and there are marvelous touches from the its several departments, e.g., concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes's gorgeous solo violin in the second theme and at the close of the slow movement, the buttery blend of the horns and other brass throughout as well as the solo horn call in the finale and the flute solo that follows its first appearance, the piquant oboe solos, the solo clarinet in the scherzo, the velvety strings (listen to the first appearance of the Big Tune in IV), the imperative sonic presence of the important timpani part.

As for the Haydn Variations, this too is a bit faster in spots that one might expect, but the clarity of textures is not only acceptable but makes it seem right, even inevitable. I particularly loved the spirit and lightness of Variation V and the weightiness of the Finale.

I listened to the CD in both plain stereo and SACD sound and found them to be roughly similar. There is, of course, greater presence in the SACD version but the plain CD sound is demonstration quality as well.

I hope what I've said gives readers enough of a feel for what this performance (and recording) is like to help them make a decision about whether this is worth buying. I for one am very glad I have this CD.

Scott Morrison

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Grandiose, June 14, 2010

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Denis Derigent - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor; Haydn Variations [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

Like a lot of SACD from Pentatone, this one is also fantastic.
That is very impressive is the sound quality at first.
SACD are still the best way to appreciate great and well done recording.
Bravo Pentatone, never give up.