Search - J. Brahms :: Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

'A VERY HIGH-CLASS UNDERTAKER' (Shaw)

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 12/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It might seem an odd thing to say that one of the biggest tests of an orchestra and conductor is how they handle Brahms. However I'm going to say it anyway, because it was precisely Previn and the LSO who started me thinking this way. They used to have a series on television called Andre Previn's Music Night, and I have never forgotten how they played the Academic Festival overture. In the wrong hands this can be a lump of dough, and what came across to me was how the sound is as much a matter of the phrasing and rhythm as of the instrumental quality. Brahms is really a wonderful orchestrator whatever they used to tell us, but it needs a special gift on the part of the conductor for this to be apparent.



I don't expect this particular account to appeal to music-lovers generally in the way it appeals to me, but it appeals to me powerfully for all that. The LP version that I have lived with for years without number is that by Klemperer, and I simply don't like it much despite Fischer-Dieskau and Schwarzkopf in the solo parts. In particular the crude tone of the horns in the big crescendo in Denn alles Fleisch grates on me, and both in that movement and in the soprano solo the rhythm seems to me unsteady. A rock-like steadiness in the rhythm struck me right away in this account by Previn, and also a wonderful introverted darkness in the sound he obtains in the opening number. There is almost a chamber-music feel about some of Brahms's Requiem, and I caught it strongly in the first and last movements as done here. In general this is not the most overtly emotional performance of the work you will ever hear, but for me that is reduced to irrelevance by Previn's special touch with this composer, powerful when needed without being heavy and clear-textured without loss of gravity. I have no criticism to make of either soloist. Harolyn Blackwell's clear innocent tone is very much to my liking, and Wilson-Johnson gives his prophetic messages with proper solemnity but without excessive portentousness. In another context I would probably have welcomed a little more emotional fervour in the heavenly Wie lieblich, and possibly a slightly slower speed, but it is all part of the general concept here and I like that for its consistency.



This is my own idea of Brahms, and my idea of this work in particular. It is an unbeliever's musing on mortality and on the messages of hope and comfort offered by the scripture. I would certainly go a bit further than Andrew Huth does in his good liner-note in interpreting `German' in this connection. There is nothing catholic or apostolic here, and Brahms had already taken on himself a role as custodian of one part of the great German cultural tradition.



This is a recent account, issued in 2000. It seems to me to display an uncommon sensitivity towards the composer and towards this highly personal composition in particular, and the sensitivity extends to the sound-quality both from the performers and from the recording technicians. The liner note is thoughtful and informative, and the full text is provided with translations into English and French."

Splendid Brahms Requiem from Previn and LSO

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 06/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andre Previn's exhuberant, exhilirating account of the Brahms Requiem must be regarded as one of the finest recordings ever of this work. It is replete with brisk tempi, excellent singing from the choir and soloists, and lush, vibrantly warm playing from the orchestra itself. Playing this CD at the highest volume I could, I was impressed by how well balanced the recording sounds, with equal weight provided not only to the singers, but also to the orchestra. I've tended to underrate Previn as an interpreter of 19th Century classical music, so this recording is truly a genuine surprise. The Penguin Guide to Classical CDs rates this fine recording as among the best available currently. And frankly, at this price, it is most definitely a bargain!"

Wow!

Michael R. Leghorn | Evanston, IL USA | 07/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound quality is spectacular. Previn's interpretation & LSO's performance are stunning. I have several LSO Live recordings, and they're all great. After listening to this, I can throw away my other recordings of this piece (which are with with Klemperer and Guilini)."