Symphonies 3 & 4

Brahms (Artist), Stokowski (Artist), Steinberg (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 28, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Everest Records
• ASIN: B0000023GO
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,359 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro con brio

2. Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Andante

3. Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Poco allegretto

4. Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: Allegro

5. Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro non troppo

6. Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Andante moderato

7. Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Allegro giocosco - Poco meno presto

8. Symphony No. 4 In E Minor, Op. 98: Piu allegro

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Home run for Stokowski, April 15, 2011

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symphonies 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

When I was young, this recording of Brahms symphony 3 was one reason I took an interest in classical music. It was the standard for other recordings. It has great sound separation, and if Stokowski tinkered with the score, it just adds sparkle to a marvelous score. That was decades ago, and I have perhaps 5 recordings of #3 in my library, and this is the favorite. As for Steinburg, his rendition is passable but nothing to write home about. Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein, Szell, Ormandy all seem better to me. But I'd love this disc if it was Stokowski and Joe Nobody and the Jerkwater Philharmonic doing the second selection. The complaints of other reviewers leave me astonished. Are they listening to the right disc? This is a Romantic composer interpreted by a Romantic conductor with a penchant for recording quality, and the result is marvelous.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Eccentric Brahms, July 24, 2001

By 

Brian H. Williams (Manteca, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphonies 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

As a huge fan of Stokowski, I found his Brahms 3 disappointing. He takes the first movement intorduction at a breakneck pace before slowing down to an acceptable tempo for the melody. Then he takes a slower than usual tempo for the 2nd movement, but it's filled with emotion, so it works. The 3rd movement has glorious string sound and sounds great. The 4th is where Stoky misses his mark. The tempo is far too slow to generate any excitement. It's tightly controled performance with good sonics, but his version is nowhere near the brilliance of Bruno Walter on Sony, and George Szell, also on Sony. Go with those two first before trying Stokowski's 3rd. Steinberg's version of the 4th symphony is not in the same class as Stokowski, Walter, Reiner or Toscanini. The Pittsburgh symphony is lacking the orchestral sonorities common with the conductors I mentioned, and Steinbergs drums seem really weak, however, I would reccomend this performance to beginners of this symphony. It's a straightforward performance that has many satisfying moments. I would reccomend this cd, only for comparison purposes only. It gives the listener insight as to how eccentric Stokowski could be.

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Brahms Symphony No. 4, January 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Symphonies 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

I still don't think that this version of the 4th Symphony, by Johannes Brahms, performed by William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony, would sound as great taken from the Everest master, as it would from the original Command Classics master. The original record, on the gold Command Classics label, would have sounded better than this CD release's version, as I have that very copy at home. I've never heard Stokowski's version of Brahms's 3rd Symphony, but likely I'll never buy this album. I'd rather try to get the original record and try to clean the sound up.