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Brahms: Symphony No. 1 / Variations on a Theme / 5 Hungarian Dances (Essential Classics)

Johannes Brahms (Composer), George Szell (Conductor), Eugene Ormandy (Conductor), Format: Audio CD
4.1 out of 5 stars 18 customer reviews
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Track Listings

Disc: 1

  1. I. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro
  2. II. Andante sostenuto
  3. III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
  4. IV. Adagio - Allegro non troppo ma con brio
  5. Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56a in B-Flat Major
  6. No. 17 in F-Sharp Minor
  7. No. 18 in D Major
  8. No. 19 in B Minor
  9. No. 20 in E Minor
  10. No. 21 in E Minor

Product Details

  • Orchestra: Cleveland Orchestra
  • Conductor: George Szell, Eugene Ormandy
  • Composer: Johannes Brahms
  • Audio CD (August 13, 1991)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Sony Classical
  • Run Time: 70 minutes
  • ASIN: B0000027AH
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,644 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA matter of style
By Firebrand on April 23, 2011
Format: Audio CD Verified Purchase
No work inspires more debate than the Brahms First. Add to that the eternal misunderstandings over the approach of George Szell, and you have a firestorm.

Szell/Cleveland's sound was clear and precise in articulation, sometimes brisk, but never completely cold or lacking in feeling. Inattentive, insensitive ears confuse these qualities. The musicality of Szell/Cleveland was unmatched.

In terms of the Brahms First, Szell's lean, brisk, kinetic, heroic approach is a valid one. It just isn't a melodramatic and emotional one. It is similar to the one used by conductors going as far back as Felix Weingartner, who performed in Brahms' own time, and many others, including Toscanini and Eduard Van Beinum. If, on the other hand, your Brahms First must be slower and romantic, do go to the other end of the spectrum (Walter, Bernstein, Furtwangler, Sanderling), and further still (ideally perhaps), to the monumental takes by Horenstein, Barbirolli, Klemperer, and Christoph Eschenbach.

My only concession to critics is that this 1968 recording, while excellent on the first three movements, takes the finale at too brisk a tempo, blowing through some important passages. There are even faster takes out there, such as by the acclaimed Gunter Wand.

This was not Szell's finest recording of the First. There is a 1957 recording on a United Archives CD, and on old mono Epic LPs that are superior. I recommend the United Archives disc highly.

Szell/Cleveland's masterful recordings of Brahms symphonies #2-4 are richer, far more sweeping and romantic in interpretation than what he does with the First, for whatever reason.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA powerful, tense Brahms First in the Toscanini style--but get the new remastering
By Santa Fe Listener HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on August 3, 2006
Format: Audio CD
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. The budget issue pictured above is from 1991, in indifferent sound. As of August, 2006, there's a new DSD version in Sony's Great Performances series. And great performance it surely is. 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the supreme performances of Brahms' First Symphony
By Vladimiro Rivas Iturralde on February 5, 2013
Format: Audio CD
I enjoyed the Cleveland-Szell performance of the Brahms First Symphony more than any other. It's a miracle of orchestral equilibrium, control and musicality. I don`t believe Szell is a cold conductor. Absolutely not. He is (he was) a very disciplined conductor, as well as Toscanini, but he permits the orchestra to breath and sing. The horns has always a very intense and poetical expression, the strings are always singing, the tempo and rythm could seem metronomical, but they are not: they are simply precise. There are no many versions as good as this one: Walter, Toscanini, Karajan (1963), Klemperer, Giulini (Vienna Philharmonic), Abbado. I reccomend this disc as the best.
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5.0 out of 5 starsClassic Szell, Excellent Ormandy
By Xyp on October 14, 2005
Format: Audio CD
This is, simply put, classic George Szell. In fact, this performance of the Brahms 1st takes its place near the top of the heap. It is a great performance and an excellent addition to any collection, especially at bargain price. If you're looking for the a bit more overt emotion, try Bruno Walter or Otto Klemperer- they 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 shining flourish. Classic.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDe gustibus, you know, but it's still a great performance
By stevenrothbard on March 14, 2008
Format: Audio CD
In music, as in any art, personal taste is a powerful determinant of evaluations. As the old Latin phrase goes, de gustibus non est disputandum (beautiful, no?), or, in other words, there's no disputing taste. George Szell had a reputation for being a cool conductor, and I think it is this IDEA rather than any objective criteria which determines the taste of many listeners when it comes to Szell's recorded performances. Some don't like 'em. OK! So, it's not for you, perhaps, but Szell's recording of the Brahms symphonies is still, by any measure, one of the greatest. ONE of the best, not the ONLY one. There is no such thing. Reiner, Karajan, Kertez, Abbaddo,Levine, Donanyi, Toscannini, Klemperer, Walter, Mackerras, et al., have all recorded great versions of the Brahms symphonies. They are all good and they are all different (some very different from others), and, of course, they all have different qualities of recorded sound based on the label technicians, etc. So, pick the one you like based on your taste. If you like fast and classical, Szell and Mackerras are good (also, Klemperer can be pretty fast in some of his Brahms); if you like slower and more romantic, Karajan, Abbado, Walter are all good. It's up to you. Try 'em. Listen to the radio. Go to your public library and see what they have. You may find that you like several versions, or all of the above (and more!), which I do. ENJOY! It's art, not politics!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Great CD and a Very Unexpected Find

I purchased this CD for the Brahms Symphony No. 1. It was missing from my collection for some inexplicable reason. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Dick Buckley
5.0 out of 5 starsthank you

It is very good CD. I like it! my English is not very good, so I can not say any more, sorry! thank you

Published on January 27, 2014 by Chengye
5.0 out of 5 starsImpressive playing

It took me a long time to fall in love with Brahm's music. Looking back, I really have no clue why this was the case. Read more

Published on August 26, 2013 by Arnaud Wiehe
5.0 out of 5 starsMasterful performance

This is a masterful performance and was the only one of a set of Brahms orchestral works by Szell/Cleveland that I was missing. I admit to being a Szell junkie. Read more

Published on March 10, 2011 by garmicham
5.0 out of 5 starsBrah1HydHung

One of my 'keepers'! Thanks to Brahms and Symphony No. 1 in C minor, this CD is one I think twice about lending. Just buy it for someone else: it's worth it. Read more

Published on March 31, 2009 by Robert K. Barclay
2.0 out of 5 stars"A bit of musicality, please!!!!"

This recording of Brahm's 1st Symphony is musical garbage. George Szell was well known and critized for his precision. Read more

Published on March 29, 2006 by Revloc10
4.0 out of 5 starsBrahms grandioso

Szell es un director notable y sus versiones para las sinfonias de Brahms son geniales (la cuarta es una de las mejores que he escuchado), este conductor es pulcro y refinado,... Read more

Published on December 15, 2004 by felipe
2.0 out of 5 starsBrahms made weak by Szell

No one doubts that Szell has contributed to the music industry any number of recordings of classical masterpieces. Read more

Published on May 7, 2004 by Christopher J. Palo

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