With Brahms's German Requiem (Eine Deutsches Requiem), there are so many recordings to choose from. You have different conductors (Claudio Abbado, Andre Previn, Robert Spano), different orchestras & choruses (San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre des Champs Elysees, Bavarian Radio Symphony), different soloists (Kathleen Battle, Gerald Finley, Lucia Popp, Hermann Prey) and even different labels (Deutsche Grammophon, London/Decca). I guess you would have to find one that fits your own taste. Philippe Herreweghe's period interpretation with the Orchestre des Champs Elysees remains my personal favorite. This particular recording by Pentatone is quite good.
Marek Janowski, who also conducted Wagner's Ring Cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden, follows the score very closely. He remains careful with the music as he avoids all sorts of histrionics. He also makes sure that the music is never rushed, and makes certain that it never becomes dull or ponderous, giving the relatively accurate tempi whenever they're needed. The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra) may not be a top-rate orchestra such as the Berlin Philharmonic or the Philharmonia, but it does do a fine job with the score. The Rundfunkchor Berlin (Berlin Radio Chorus) could have made a few improvements here and there, but overall the singers sound nice. The soloists (Detlef Roth & Camilla Tilling) sing exquisitely, and seem very appropriate for this sort of piece. The acoustics aren't very outstanding: this is a live performance at the Philharmonie, Berlin, but it sounds almost as if it's in a recording studio rather than a concert hall. But all in all, this is a very well-done performance of Brahms's German Requiem.
Grade: 7.8/10
