Composer: Johannes Brahms
Performer: Maurizio Pollini, Lisa Batiashvili
Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden
Conductor: Christian Thielemann
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: 4792787
Release: 2014
Size: 801 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
01. 1. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro – Meno allegro
02. 2. Andante sostenuto
03. 3. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
04. 4. Adagio – Piu andante – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio – Piu allegro
05. Tragic Overture, Op. 81
CD 02
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
01. 1. Allegro non troppo
02. 2. Adagio non troppo – L’istesso tempo, ma grazioso
03. 3. Allegretto grazioso ( Quasi andantino) – Presto ma non assai
04. 4. Allegro con spirito
05. Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
CD 03
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
01. 1. Allegro con brio – Un poco sostenuto – Tempo I
02. 2. Andante
03. 3. Poco allegretto
04. 4. Allegro
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
05. 1. Allegro non troppo
06 .2. Andante moderato
07. 3. Allegro giocoso – Poco meno presto – Tempo I
08. 4. Allegro energico e passionato – Più allegro
Sets of the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms often resemble each other, not only because the style of the performances varies little from one conductor to the next, but also because they are usually offered with Brahms’ three major orchestral works as obligatory filler. In this 2014 Deutsche Grammophon set by Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Tragic Overture and the Academic Festival Overture are the extras, though one misses that usual standby, the Variations on a Theme of Haydn, which was presumably dropped for space. Musically, Thielemann’s interpretations are solidly conservative and reliable, and the playing of the Dresden orchestra is equal to the best performances ever recorded. Deutsche Grammophon’s recording is superb, as always, so the typical concerns over the ensemble’s balance and clarity of textures are allayed by the transparent audio. Perhaps fans of Thielemann will be the first in line for this package, but everyone else should consider sets with more selections.
“Thielemann and his crew made this driving version [of the 4th Symphony] cohere and even gave one of the most convincing, well-delineated, Andante moderato movements imaginable.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
Germany’s foremost conductor of German Romantic repertoire conducts his legendary Dresdner Staatskapelle in a complete cycle of Brahms symphonies
Recorded live through the 2012-13 season, this set presents the most coherent rendering of Thielemann’s powerful, dark, layered vision of Brahms.
A counter-weight to the lighter, ‘revisionist’ Chailly cycle on Decca, Thielemann’s version is rooted in the great German Romantic tradition – tragic and elegiac emotion with an epic sense of musical architecture.