Search - Brahms, Walter, Columbia Symphony :: Double Concerto

Brahms Double, Beethoven Triple Going Fast

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 07/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As someone who has only recently begun seriously collecting classical CDs, the Bruno Walter Edition has been a revelation. Walter, at the end of his career, set out to record his signature pieces for posterity in what was then the new technology of stereo. And unlike von Karajan, who rushed to record his repertoire at the dawn of the video and digital era to often-mixed results, every Walter performance I have encountered is absolutely brilliant. This recording of Brahms' Double Concerto, with violinist Zino Francescatti and cellist Pierre Fournier from 1959, is no exception. (It should be noted that the Beethoven Triple, a stunning account featuring Corigliano, Hendl and Rose, is a mono performance from 1949 during Walter's days with the New York Philharmonic.) There are other Beethoven Triple/Brahms Double discs out there that are equally good -- most notably the Karajan/Szell EMI title featuring the triumverant of Richter, Rostropovich and Oistrakh -- but none of them are superior to these accounts. Also, I should note that since making a point of acquiring all of the Bruno Walter Edition titles earlier this year, I have witnessed several of them falling prey to the deletion axe. So order the Bruno Walter Edition titles quickly, because these recordings made during the twilight of Walter's career, seem to be in the twilight of their own life as well."