Composer: Johannes Brahms
Orchestra: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900111
Release: 2011
Size: 351 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
01. I. Allegro non troppo
02. II. Adagio non troppo
03. III. Allegretto grazioso
04. IV. Allegro con spirito
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
05. I. Allegro con brio
06. II. Andante
07. III. Poco allegretto
08. IV. Allegro
Mariss Jansons’ SACD releases on BR Klassik sometimes compete with his earlier recordings of the same music on other labels. His 2011 album of Johannes Brahms’ Second and Third symphonies covers the same works that were released in 1999 on Simax, though the live performance by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has the advantage of DSD multichannel recording, where the older reading with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra was a standard digital CD. Beyond the benefit of state-of-the-art reproduction, this is a respectable run-through of Brahms’ middle symphonies, though devotees of these works may feel that Jansons doesn’t rise to a high level in his interpretations, and the BRSO is not exactly inspired in its playing. That the performances are merely adequate is arguable, but nothing special emerges that compels the listener to stick with the symphonies from beginning to end, either for emotional insights or for brilliant execution. Even the orchestral sound is nothing special, despite the audiophile presentation. All the notes can be heard, and most of the rhythms and tempos are together, with only a few spots of imprecision, so the music is good for following along with a score. But in a market that is full of great, even legendary, performances of Brahms’ symphonies — many as sets of all four masterpieces — this pairing seems only average and not much of an enticement to purchase.
The two middle symphonies by Johannes Brahms form a highly contrasting pair of works, which define the radius of Brahms’s musical language, equally marked by both poesy and the highest level of constructive stringency. The beauty of Brahmsian symphonic creativity comes to full fruition in these live recordings from the Musikverein in Vienna and the Herkulessaal in Munich under the direction of Mariss Jansons. The qualities of one of the world’s best orchestras are captured in the highest fidelity by the audiophile SACD process.
The first Brahms releases with Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Audiophile live recordings on SACD from the Vienna Konzertverein and the Munich Herkulessaal.