Composer: Johannes Brahms
Orchestra: Münchner Philharmoniker
Conductor: Rudolf Kempe
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Profil Medien
Catalogue: PH20037
Release: 2022
Size: 664 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
01. I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro
02. II. Andante sostenuto
03. III. Un poco allegretto e grazioso
04. IV. Adagio – Allegro non troppo, ma con brio
CD 02
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
01. I. Allegro non troppo
02. II. Adagio non troppo
03. III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino)
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
CD 03
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
01. I. Allegro non troppo
02. II. Andante moderato
03. III. Allegro giocoso
04. IV. Allegro energicoe passionato
05. Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a
For a long time Johannes Brahms was considered the epitome of conservatism who, contrary to the disciples of Wagner and Liszt, fell back on old forms, which allegedly had no power anymore. Indeed, Brahms was an expert on music of the past, going back tiII the polyphonic composers of the 16th century. He made use of old patterns such as the variation and the interrelated passacaglia. He adopted the traditional four-movement symphony and its juxtaposition, respected the pattern of the sonata form and did hardly go beyond Beethoven when it came to instrumentation. However, the perception of Brahms as a “reactionary”, as it was initially argued by Nietzsche and later by the circle of Wagner and Richard Strauss, is unsustainable. No one less than Arnold Schoenberg has recognised the fundamentally different, which divided the composer Brahms, particularly as composer of symphonies, from the masters of the classical sonata and symphony in his famous paper “Brahms, der Fortschrittl iche” (Brahms the progressive)