"The quintessential recording of the Brahms Horn Trio. I don't know the rest of the recording, frankly, but the trio is worth the expenditure. Bloom is simply the best, as are Tree and Serkin. It just doesn't get any better than this.Gorgeous sound, achingly beautiful phrasing.... Brahms would have been proud."
Thrilling recording
Santa Fe Listener | 03/14/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The performance of the Brahms Horn Trio here is electric. Myron Bloom's horn sound is beyond full---it's huge... at times pure, at times almost percussive. This is my favorite recording."
Great sextet, interesting trio, fair sound
G. Metcalf | United States | 10/07/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The other reviewers here are all agog about the trio on this disc. In fact I bought it for the trio. However speaking as a fan of Brahms I like the sextet better. The Horn trio concept is certainly a relative novelty and there are some fine moments but there is also some tedium in my opinion. The sextet is altogether a finer piece and this is a good version of it. The reason I give it only three stars is the sound. The instruments themselves have good presence but there is a lot of artifactual noise on this recording."
Two classic and inspiring Marlboro readings
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 08/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The ad hoc summer groups who played at the Marlboro Music Festival in the Serkin era managed to sound like long-standing ensembles. That's certainly true here; six Marlboro veterans bring off a glorious and passionate Brhams Sextet #2. I've lived with this CD for years and return to it for inspiration regularly, although I must admit that the even more passionate reading from the Alban Berg and Amadeus Qt. on EMI surpasses it.
The Horn Trio features Myron Bloom, first chair hornist of the Clevealnd Orch. under Szell, and with Rudolf Serkin providing incomparable piano playing, this verison also rises to the top of the list."