Search - Brahms, Schubert, John Eliot Gardiner :: Brahms: Symphony # 2, Alto Rhapsody; Schubert: Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern D714, Gruppe aus dem Tartarus D583, An Schwager Kronos

A very good record of Brahms

Osvaldo Colarusso | Curitiba, Paraná Brazil | 04/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After a very good CD with the first Symphony of Brahms , with others works with chorus and orchestra ( one of Mendelssohn) I was really surprised with a disc that is still better.I like very much the Integral of Schumann that Gardiner recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, but this Brahms project , specially this second CD is really outstanding. The intelligence of the program is amazing : the CD begins with works for male chorus and Orchestra. For the first time I heard these Brahms arrangements of Lieder by Schubert. Special. Natalie Stutzmann sings very well,and the chorus sounds fantastic. The rare "Song of the spirits over the waters" is , maybe, the high point of this CD. Schubert was here really genial, with one original instrumentation ( only slow strings in the orchestra).So we have Brahms ( Rhapsody) , Schubert, Schubert via Brahms and finally the Second Symphony of Brahms.

The Symphony, principal work of the CD , has here one fantastic reading. Brahms isn't a Mahler of second hand. Brahms is a Brahms of first rate.Try to make this work a Symphony contemporary of Sibelius is a failure. Gardiner , without the mannerisms of Harnoncourt and Norrington ,chose very appropriate "andamentos", and the orchestra sounds gloriously. Only the Symphonies of Brahms recorded by Kertesz are rival of this version.The transparency prevails all the time. And the expression never lacks in these performances. One last (good) thing: the sound of this record is fantastic."

Fascinating ... but be warned.

billinrio | Paris, FR | 05/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are, of course, scores of available recordings of this congenial symphony. You will have your favorites, as I do. But the truth is that most sound pretty much the same. But this one is truly different. Gardiner and his orchestra here manage to remove the warmth and fuzziness from Brahms, and the first hearing of this recording, for those of us who love this symphony, can be a shock. Instead of a warm bath, be prepared for a leap into a some chilly waters. It sounds a bit like a chamber orchestra version, and its intriguing to ponder the possibility that this is indeed how the composer "meant" this music to be heard. The playing here is immaculate, and the recording pristine. It is not often that one can listen to a familiar work and be obliged to re-evaluate it, as if hearing it as for the first time. Highly recommended."