I also love Brahms and as I write this I am listening to the Haydn Variations by Abbado and Berlin Philharmonic. A piece I enjoy very much. My other favorite work by Brahms is definitely Symphony No. 4. I have recordings of it by Solti and Kleiber but am not sure which one I prefer yet. Also like the German Requiem which I just received and heard for the first time yesterday, the Klemperer version from 1961.
Brahms German Requiem is the greatest choral work composed for the classical period IMHO ... The version by Klemperer is an excellent one.
This recording for me ideally balances the classical and romantic aspects of Brahms-- it's not as uber-expressive as, say, Lupu in this repertory, but the playing is lucid, fresh, and moving.
There are other excellent versions with better sound. The following CD, my favorite, came to mind ...
Also a lover of Brahms here. Some favorites: Piano Concertos - Barenboim/Barbirolli, Gilels/Jochum and Serkin/Szell Late Piano Works (Op. 116-119) - Angelich, Gould, Kovacevich and Lupu Symphonies - Karajan's 60s set, Barbirolli and Walter Cello Sonatas - Fournier/Backhaus String Quartets - Alban Berg QT
I know you asked this question to @DeepFloyd11, but for me the answer would be Bohm. It's tough as these are two of my favorites but if you told me you were going to take away all of my records by one of these conductors, I'd defend my Bohm records with my life!
Now playing CD1 - works by Michel-Richard de Lalande from the following twofer for a second listen ... It is getting a little lonely here, as I may be the only one that is into early/baroque music.
These are two conductors who shared much in their repertoire though somewhat different conducting style ...
Last Sunday I started a thread on what was surely one of the best-selling classical LPs, but there were no replies, so I thought I'd bring it here. Whatever happened to Fiedler's Nutcracker album, LSC-2052?
Do you like Cincinnati Pops? I never like classical music as pops much, though I did attend a free Thanksgiving concert by the Boston Pops at the Indian (Mohegan Sun) many years ago. My wife's mother was a frequent (or shall I say gambler) visitor of the Indian casino and had accumulated tens of thousands of points redeemable for free dinner or concert ...
Now enjoying the same work from this box set. I have to say, this is one symphony that loses a lot of beauty in historic mono sound.
An amazing performance. I'd love to see something like this live. I'm afraid half the audience here in DC would walk out.
I have the earlier Toscanini Beethoven Symphonies RCA box but have yet to warm up to his style. No doubt I like Bruno Walter a whole lot more ...
To be honest, I was a bit surprised to see you sampling this set to begin with, since I'm pretty sure you've said you don't generally care for pre-LP orchestral recordings' sonic character. Not so much an issue for me (obviously!), but then, I came at recordings from the other direction, starting off with 78s and only belatedly blundering my way into stereo. Anyhow, the 6th aside, I hope you're enjoying the set!
That always helps! By the by, Toscanini made only one record in his entire career for anyone other than the Victor/HMV partnership. Just after the introduction of electrical recording, which would be around 15 years before the Beethoven cycle in your set, he and the PSONY waxed for Brunswick a couple of excerpts from Mendelssohn's music for a Midsummer Night's Dream. I recently bought a copy after years of watching for one at a--there's that word again--cheap price. On my short list of things to play soon. Have a great week--you, and everybody!
Now playing: Ludwig van Beethoven – Concerto for Piano No.4 in G major Op.58 — Leon Fleisher (piano) – Cleveland Orchestra – George Szell (Epic Stereorama / Sony Classical)
