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Track Listings
| 1. Hungarian Dance No. 14 in D Minor - Budapest Festival Orchestra |
| 2. Variations On a Theme By Haydn for Orchestra, Op. 56a, 'St Anthony Variations' - Budapest Festival Orchestra |
| 3. Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 - Budapest Festival Orchestra |
Product Description
Review
The first German-Hungarian-Gypsy-Swiss-Austrian symphony is how Iván Fischer gawp-inducingly describes Brahms's First in a sleeve note that reflects on its protracted genesis and the multiplicity of influences that informed it. As with many of Fischer's discs of late, the main work is subjected to a process of contextualisation, so the First is prefaced by Hungarian Dance No 14 and the Variations on a Theme by Haydn, which are held up as examples of the Romantic elegance and classical leanness that merge in the symphony. The point is a common one and has been better made, but the performances are so mind-blowing that Fischer's didacticism doesn't really matter. Ever the radical, he effectively refashions each work from scratch. The Haydn Variations have a grace and lightness of touch we don't often hear in them. The First, meanwhile, is monumental in every sense of the word: a huge, noble assertion of the inherent dignity of human experience and creative endeavour that leaves you feeling enriched and exalted. We're not told whether this marks the start of a major new Brahms cycle, though we must hope it does. Outstanding. --Guardian - Tim Ashley - 9th October 09
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By P. J. King
Format:Audio CD
I bought this recording following a rave review in the Guardian. Whilst it is good, I didn't feel it deserved quite the notice it received. The problem I have is that I grew up with the Toscanini recording, whilst not Hi Fi is an incredible performance. The first movement, for instance, is nearly 3 minutes longer than Toscanini's and has no feeling of urgency, which, I feel, it needs. Too many conductors today treat Brahms as a died in the wool romantic, which he isn't. They should listen to those conductors who were fresh to his music to understand what his music needs.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Stuart Jones
Format:Audio CD
At last Brahms gets the treatment he deserves - as soon as you hear the first portamento in the introduction you know it's going to be good. Quite apart from the usual expected superlative playing from the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the lucid recording, once again Fischer has taken a familiar, even hackneyed piece and thought it through from the ground up. Charles Mackerras has long been an advocate of the use of rubato in Brahms' orchestral music, but his own application of the principle has been perhaps a little too restrained. Fischer, on the other hand, takes this scrupulous scholarship right to the heart of the piece and in doing so uncovers Brahms' gypsy soul, producing something bright and passionate to the point of incandescence. A marvel. The St Antoni Variations and the Hungarian Dance that fill the disc are lovely too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Until recently I admired Walter and Jochum above most conductors in the Brahms symphonies. Both lots of recordings suffer from age. This new Fischer recording, however, is indeed a revelation. Lean but not mean, romantic but not maudlin, detailed but not without overall shape or spontaneity, it is beautifully recorded and above all it is exciting! Let us pray that the other symphonies will follow and will be up to this standard. Then we will be in Brahms heaven!
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
as expected
the orchestra and its conductor are as good as it gets. i've seen them live at symphony hall birmingham and therefore i know there were no engineering tricks to make it seem... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Leonard Wetter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great conductor
Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra do it for me. Excellent recording and lovely fine playing. A real joy
Published 12 months ago by C. F. Howat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superlative
A superlative performance of Brahms 1 which gave me more joy than any performance I've heard over the last forty years. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2010 by Big D
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