Brahms Recommendations

[sonnyhill]

I have been listening to Brahms's complete trios on Phillips. I really like it. Is there any other cannot miss Brahms that I should pick up?

[Alexander Hawkins]

I couldn't recommend a particular recording, but the piano music is wonderful - esp. (IMHO) the Rhapsodies (op.79) and the Intermezzi (opp.117,118,119).

[Rooster_Ties]

The first piano quartet is really outstanding IMHO (really, don't miss it).

And none other than Arnold Schoenberg -- yes, THAT Schoenberg -- did a rather fantastic and/or (occasionally) bombastic full orchestration of the very same first quartet. Some have gone so far as to call it Brahms' 5th symphony.

Some think it (the Shoenberg's orchestration) is a bit over the top -- but I quite love it.

In any case, get Brahms' first piano quartet; you won't be disappointed.

[Larry Kart]

Piano Concerti 1 and 2 -- I'm fond of Rubinstein-Reiner in 1 and Rubinstein-Krips in 2. In fact I'm discovering that Rubinstein and Brahms were a near-perfect match, much more so IMO than Rubinstein and Chopin. Another gem is Rubinstein's early '30s recording of the first Piano Quartet, with the Pro Arte, coupled with recordings of that vintage of the first violin sonata and the first cello sonata (with Piatagorsky).

[Rooster_Ties]

I'll echo the recommendation of the First piano concerto especially -- which started its life as a symphony (IIRC). As a result, the orchestra and piano are uncharacteristically intertwined, in ways you don't always hear in most piano concerti.

All I know is that I'm blown away nearly every time I hear it -- almost a true hybrid of a symphony and a piano concerto (to me it almost seems like 75% symphony, and 75% piano concerto – at the same time).

[Eloe Omoe]

I have been listening to Brahms's complete trios on Phillips. I really like it. Is there any other cannot miss Brahms that I should pick up?

Who's on Philips? Beaux Arts Trio? A good version, indeed, but the greatest one, to me, is the Starker-Katchen-Suk on Decca (which is readily available in a budget twofer, I think). A masterful performance.

luca

Edited April 5, 2007 by Eloe Omoe

[Larry Kart]

The first piano quartet is really outstanding IMHO (really, don't miss it).

And none other than Arnold Schoenberg -- yes, THAT Schoenberg -- did a rather fantastic and/or (occasionally) bombastic full orchestration of the very same first quartet. Some have gone so far as to call it Brahms' 5th symphony.

Some think it (the Shoenberg's orchestration) is a bit over the top -- but I quite love it.

In any case, get Brahms' first piano quartet; you won't be disappointed.

Given your taste for the Brahms/Schoenberg, you might want to check out Paul Dessau's similiar in spirit, though at times more openly playful/antic, setting for orchestra of Mozart's String Quintet, K. 614:

http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=253087

It gets farther out as it goes along, and a reasonable person might decide that both Dessau and the work were insane. To me, it's fascinating, and I'm sure that Dessau knew exactly what he was up to here in every respect --- but then my own mental stability is questionable.

[Spontooneous]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

Also the string quintets and sextets. More fun than the quartets. The more parts, the merrier.

[Larry Kart]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

Love this one:

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/...os+Ensemble.htm

and it's as cheap as the Naxos (plus you get a fine performance of the Mozart).

[Eloe Omoe]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

There is a very good version by Michel Portal w/the Melos Quartet on a cheap Harmonia Mundi CD. Portal has also recorded the two Sonatas for clarinet and piano with Georges Pledermacher on another budget Harmonia Mundi CD.

luca

[mikeweil]

This one blew me away, so much Italian passion in Northern Brahms' music!

[mikeweil]

... and absolutely love this recording of the string sextets:

http://www.signumrecords.com/catalogue/sigcd013/reviews.htm

[BruceH]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

Also the string quintets and sextets. More fun than the quartets. The more parts, the merrier.

Maybe so, but don't overlook the string quartets. They're great.

[mikeweil]

I'd also recommend the original chamber version of his two serenades, gathered here on 1 disc (oop, it seems):

no. 1 op. 11 by the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin (nonett version reconstructed by Jorge Rotter)

no. 2 op. 16 by the Linos Ensemble (14 instruments)

I recommend to listen to this before the orchestral versions and the symphonies

[mikeweil]

Portal has also recorded the two Sonatas for clarinet and piano with Georges Pledermacher on another budget Harmonia Mundi CD.

luca

Pludermacher is an excellent pianist! Regrettably he never recorded any solo piano pieces by Brahms, afaik.

[DTMX]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

Also the string quintets and sextets. More fun than the quartets. The more parts, the merrier.

Ditto on the string quintets and sextets. I got mine on EMI's Encore (budget) series and they sound wonderful.

[Chuck Nessa]

Since everyone is staying away from the orchestral stuff I will jump in here.

Klemperer for the symphonies and requiem. Lehmann on DG is an interesting alternative for the requiem. The alts for the symphonies are too many to list - I currently have about 30 Brahms symphonies.

Piano concerti - sticking to stereo and sets, Gilels/Jochum and Fleischer/Szell do it for me. Different approaches do it for me too)

Did I miss mention of the piano quintet? Good piece. Pick your favorite players. I currently listen to Rubinstein/Guarneri and Jando/Kodaly. All the piano quartets by Rubinstein/Guarneri are dandy too.

I friggin' love the trios by Rubinstein/Szeryng/Fournier. This is superior music making.

Like Larry, I "slept on" the Rubinstein Brahms stuff but connected about 5 years ago and will check out any Brahms by him.

The solo music is not easy to sort out but a really inexpensive, wonderfully played, problematically transferred collection is a 5 disc set on Vox by Walter Klien. Great Brahms playing, but not complete. I think I got the set for about $20. I had been bugging Vox for years to get this out.

I see I didn't mention the Alto Rhapsody - wonderful and if you get the Klemperer symphonies you might get a wonderful performance by Christa Ludwig.

Done for the moment, thanks for reading.

[Larry Kart]

I got the Eugen Jochum mid-1950s Brahms symphony set at Chuck's suggestion when it was reissued on DG Originals (it's still available) and have never regretted it. Marvelous, expansive (for want of a better term) performances. No less marvelous IMO (and the Alpha to Jochum's Omega) is Felix Weingartner's late 1930s Brahms set -- fierce living X-Rays of the works. I have this in a EMI GROC box and it seems to be OOP in that form, at least in the U.S.; can't vouch for the several transfers that are available now.

Violin Concerto -- Szigeti with Harty or Ginette Neveu with Dobrowen or Milstein with Jochum (first two vintage performances in mono, last in stereo).

Double Concerto -- Oistrakh/Fournier with Galleria or Stern/Rose with Walter

And don't forget the magical Horn Trio! For that, I've got an odd one that I love -- Peter Damm, Josef Suk, and Werner Genuit on Acanta, coupled with the two Clarinet Sonatas. I say odd because Damm, First Horn of the Dresden Staatskapelle, has a very Central European tone, fairly rich in expressive vibrato/shadings, which will drive some people nuts but fits what Brahms had in mind, I believe. Another great one is Myron Bloom, Rudolf Serkin, and Michael Tree on a Music from Marlboro Columbia LP, perhaps on CD now, I hope.

Edited April 6, 2007 by Larry Kart

[Chuck Nessa]

Double Concerto -- Oistrakh/Fournier with Galleria or Stern/Rose with Walter

Agree with most of Larry's post but ask if the Stern/Rose is the old mono. Curious. I like Walter's later stereo recording with Francescatti and much is out of tune.

I would also add the Heifitz/Reiner collaboration to the violin concerto sweepstakes.

The stereo CBS, Bruno Walter Brahms symphonies are of interest as well.

[Joe G]

Don't miss the phenomenal Clarinet Quintet. (The cheap Naxos recording is actually better than some of the full-price competition.)

Thanks for the reminder on that - I was lying in bed one night listening to that one on the radio, and made a mental note to get a copy.

[Larry Kart]

Double Concerto -- Oistrakh/Fournier with Galleria or Stern/Rose with Walter

Agree with most of Larry's post but ask if the Stern/Rose is the old mono. Curious. I like Walter's later stereo recording with Francescatti and much is out of tune.

I would also add the Heifitz/Reiner collaboration to the violin concerto sweepstakes.

The stereo CBS, Bruno Walter Brahms symphonies are of interest as well.

I meant the old mono Stern/Rose/Walter from 1954, but I listened again and scratch that. I must have been going on memories of the LP, because my CD transfer (on one of of two three-disc sets of early Stern recordings) is horribly congested and shrill, much more so than anything else there, including stuff recorded well before that performance; maybe the master tape had deteriorated. In any case, I'll sub a wonderful version I'd forgotten about -- Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals with Alfred Cortot conducting from 1929. Lithe and passionate as hell, with Cortot more than holding up his end, it's a better engineered/balanced recording too.

[Epithet]

What was that Deutsche Grammophon chamber music set like? Amadeus Quartet and soloists I think Vásáry, Leister, Hauptmann.

[MartyJazz]

Just now saw this thread and was glad to finally see a recommendation for the Violin Concerto (Larry Kart) which is my favorite of all the superb romantic compositions in that genre. My particular interpretation of choice is the 1954 recording by Oistrakh/Konwitschny/Staatskapelle Dresden (Deutsche Grammophon) if it's still in print, I hope.

Edited April 6, 2007 by MartyJazz

[alocispepraluger102]

have a couple versions of the lovely ferrier alto rhapsodies, prefer clemens krauss..

love the reiner symphonies that are available, particularly number 1 from about 1960 on rca

and the reiner-heifitz, of course.

[Eloe Omoe]

There's also a great 1974 Paris performance of the three trios by Istomin, Stern and Rose, on an EMI DVD:

link

luca