Search - Johannes Brahms, Bernard Haitnk, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt :: Brahms: Complete Concertos / Overtures

Outstanding Budget Brahms

K. Bowersock | Lubbock, TX | 03/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a budget Brahms set to cherish. I want to begin with addressing Szeryng's account of the violin concerto, which has now become one of my top three favorites of the oft recorded masterpiece. This was my first encounter with Szeryng in the Brahms concerto (I believe there is another recording in print with him under Dorati); however, I knew he was quite capable in Brahms as evidenced through his immaculate set of the violin sonatas with Rubinstein. I had no idea he was this capable. His entrance is powerful and the violin is miked pretty far forward giving us a very full tone from the outset. It only gets better from here. The adagio is bar-none the most expressive I have ever encountered, with Szeryng implementing the perfect blend of rubato/vibrato while keeping a stedy tempo. The finale is grand. Szeryng is technically brilliant, but not at the expense of warmth and detail. Haitink and the RCO are in top form, especially in the first movement where the orchestral tuttis are crisp with a Toscanini-like quality (by the way, the candenza Szeryng uses in the first movement is the Joachim [thank God]). As for the double concerto with Starker.... it's a great interpretation with some new things to say (especially in the finale); but, it really just gets outshined by the preceding three tracks. All in all, the price of this budget set is worth it just for this out of print (in any other reissue in the U.S. that is) version of the Violin concerto which stands tall with Perlman, Heifetz, and Oistrakh, as one of the greatest out there.



As for the piano concertos with Brendel, they are also very well interpreted; especially the second. In the B-flat major, Brendel and Haitink take pretty standard tempi, and although I wish Brendel was a bit more forceful and played with a bit less staccato at some points in the outer movements, the slow movement is sublime. Overall the second concerto, while probably not measuring up to the greats (Fleisher/Richter/Arrau/ etc.) is a success. I am not as enthusiastic about the D minor, mostly due to the absence of Haitink on the podium. Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt is directing and gives us a pretty weak orchestral accompaniment in a concerto which depends on it the most. This reading is simply no match for the Fleisher or Arrau recordings. However, this is a minor weak spot in three discs of otherwise very compelling Brahms. Every one of the overtures are done masterfully, and this may be one of my all time favorite versions of the Haydn variations, with Haitink bringing in that same Toscanini-like tautness which worked so well in the violin concerto.



So, at budget price, you need this collection; if for nothing else than one of the greatest Brahms violin concerto performances of all time (just think of the other two discs as bonuses). A more than justified addition to any collection.

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