Search - Brahms, Karajan :: Symphonies 1-4

Karajan and Brahms - Naturals

Avid Reader | Franklin, Tn | 03/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I favor this recording over the one just released. There are umpteen recordings of this set and some aproach the benchmark set here (Solti, for example). But this is a "marriage made in heaven", impossible to bypass. Many new composers are media personalities, attending dinners, lecturing, teaching, helping fund drives, speaking out on social issues... Karajan is one of the old school - perhaps the last of his kind - who lives for the sheer joy of music. How many times has he directed these four hallmarks of classical music? It makes no difference: The orchestra is flawless, playing as one under the tutelage of the master. From the opening throbbing to the final variation one is in awe of both the composer and the conductor.It is difficult to choose a "best" or "favorite" since each speaks its own language. I have come to love the second while the mighty fourth with its strange yet powerful structure continues to beckon. Whichever one selects, rest assured that this is the way Brahms intended for it to sound."