Best Brahms Double Concerto
11/09/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are some excellent Brahms Double Concertos available, but I believe this is the very best. Oistrakh, Rostropovich, and Szell not only have the necessary technical skills (a formidable challenge with this piece) and the right style, but they play with obvious enjoyment and gusto, and maintain close rapport with each other. The recorded sound is superb. The complement of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, in which Oistrakh and Rostropovich are joined by Richter with Karajan at the helm, is as good a version as you are likely to find. It is a jolly piece with a gorgeous slow movement, and the solo trio and conductor even find considerable humor, especially in the finale."