Brahms: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Mariss Jansons (Conductor), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
• Conductor: Mariss Jansons
• Composer: Johannes Brahms, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (August 17, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Classics
• ASIN: B0002HAFAG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,516 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a shock -- one of the most satisfying Brahms concertos in years, April 16, 2008

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 (Audio CD)

I never pass up the chance to hear a new Brahms violin concerto CD and have been impressed by recent ones from Hilary Hahn, Christian Tetzlaff, and Julia Fischer. Somehow I overlooked this 2005 recording from young Julian Rachlin, who in general has flown under my radar. What a shock and delight, then, to find that this is one of the most refined and musically satisfying Brahms concertos I've heard in years.

Rachlin, now 33, was born in Lithuania but raised in Vienna from early childhood. He isn't, therefore, a Russian-style violinist but most definitely a European one, not at all given to dark tone, heavily romantic phrasing, or virtuosic flash. What he has going for him is that he seems to be a musician to his fingertips. My ear was immediately captivated by his phrasing, whose elegance and nuance might be compared to Milstein's or even Szigeti's. Perhaps I'm infatuated on first acquaintance, but everything sounds right to me, including the recorded sound and the excellent, alert accompaniment by Mariss Jansons and his Bavarian Radio orchestra. I would wish for more Hungarian fire in the finale, where Rachlin is too careful not to mar his beautiful tone, but that's not a major flaw.

The Mozart Cto #3 is done in quasi-period style, without vibrato in the orchestral strings and a relatively fast pace. Rachlin is just as delightful here. In all, this CD came out of left field, bringing unexpected enjoyment. I won't miss looking out for Rachlin in the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Brahms violin concerto!, September 24, 2010

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P. Adrian "Adrian" (Arad, Romania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brahms: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 (Audio CD)

There is no doubt that this CD contains one of the most refined interpretations of the Brahms's Violin Concerto, both at the level of the involved performers and recorded sound quality. The present rendition is given by a young soloist - the Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin, now living and teaching in Vienna - who has already established himself as a star musician on the international platform. His impressive list of collaborations include world-renowned conductors (Bernard Haitink, Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti), chamber partners of the highest level (Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yefim Bronfman, Evgeny Kissin, Mischa Maisky, Itamar Golan) or orchestras of the first echelon such as Vienna, Berlin, New York, Munich, Los Angeles, and Sankt Petersburg Philharmonics, London Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony, NHK Tokyo, Santa Cecilia Orchestra Rome etc. As a personal note, I must mention that a few years ago (in Bucharest, during the Enescu Festival - 2003), I was delighted to attend a performance of Rachlin's in the company of the Moscow Soloists led by the violist Yuri Bashmet, in a bunch of short pieces by Paganini and Kreisler transcribed by Denisov for violin and chamber orchestra. I treasured that performance in my mind as a wonderful interpretive account, and have looked ever since for a new occasion to listen to Rachlin in a live concert or on a CD. Here it is!

Rachlin's playing on the recording under consideration here proves a deep understanding of the Brahmsian textures and a sympathetic feeling for the mood of the work, for its mellowness and richness of nuances, as the soloist knows how to calibrate each sound, each phrase, avoiding to push them to any extreme but giving them a powerful consistency instead. His approach explores (with great care for the tone production) some valuable own ways, yet aligning the overall rendition to fruitful Central-European musical traditions. The wondrous sound of the violin (Guarnerius del Gesu "ex Carrodus" 1741) helps a lot in the efficiency of conveying, in the ease of expression and favors the proper magic atmosphere proving itself most suitable to Rachlin's style. The soloist is paired in achieving such a glowing account by a top-notch symphony ensemble (the Bavarian Radio Orchestra) and a super star conductor (Mariss Jansons) ensuring a robust orchestral background with amazing colors and a warm sonorous paste. An intelligent accompaniment able to supply an equal footing partnership between soloist and orchestra and offer the resulting symphonic flavor so proper even to Brahms's concertante works. The dreamy tunes of the second movement exhibit a stunning directness and simplicity, far from the facile sentimentalism and cheap gloss, but aiming at the very essence of the composer's intentions, sober and melancholic. The playful finale "alla zingarese" pours in with vivid cascades, in a witty teasing dialogue with the orchestra.

As a rounder off, we are offered also the Concerto no.3 by Mozart with the same protagonists. Far from being a simple complement of the recorded program (up to its 65 minutes), this concerto occurs as an outstanding achievement in its own right. Rachlin knows to negotiate its supple and jesting phrases, its singing embellishments resembling the rococo mood, with an elegant touch and good taste.

In all, a high quality recording!

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great, Great (best?) performance, somewhat overlooked, December 30, 2011

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scholarboy "esspostfacto" (NYC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Brahms: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 (Audio CD)

Sometimes I have the habit of playing music, even as sublime as this, in the background, as it were. Although I've listened to this recording a few times, perhaps I didn't truly listen until now. Everything about the Brahms strikes me as wonderfully "echt". Brahms, especially in the Violin Concerto, can be notoriously difficult to bring off: the right balance must be struck between warmth, classical poise, and structure. Rachlin and Jansons nail this as well as any performance I've heard in years, especially in the first movement-I find the slow movement just a bit too slow although beautifully phrased- with tremendous poise and power. The final movement is powerful, and an apt conclusion to the concerto here, something which too many performances fail to bring off. Rachlin's tone is simply ideal, reminding me of Oistrakh, but with purer intonation. And the BRSO, especially when Jansons first got there, was equal to if not superior to any orchestra in the world. Jansons has not always come off this well on records; here he proves to be an ideal accompaniest, in the great tradition of Szell. The recording also is perfect, bearing absolutely no indication of CD shrillness. There is really a feeling of a live performance about this. This is a must have for the Brahms and the Mozart is simply an added bonus.