Search - Eduard Tumagian, Johannes Brahms, Alexander Rahbari :: Brahms: A German Requiem

I can't stop listening to it......

John Triplett | Meridian, MS United States | 04/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos is my first choice for a classical music label, and this is just another reason why. A superb performance. The ONLY reason i didn't give it 5 stars is because i don't own another label's release of this work, and it didn't seem totally objective. However, i have heard the work plenty of times and i like this release enough to not buy another performance. You can listen to this over and over and not get bored. The bass and soprano performances are especially wonderful, and i really like the way the organ is blended with the orchestra (you can actually hear it)--it results in a wonderful sound. This is overall a wonderful interpretation--and at that wonderful Naxos price (compare this one with others for sale here). Thank you Naxos for another great performance at another great price--keep it up. Buy this one."

The BEST German Requiem.

Justin Allen | Cadiz, KY | 09/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos is known for exceptional sound at a very reasonable price (about $6.98 for one disc). This is the best version of Brahms' Requiem if you are interested in purchasing it, Naxos has yet to fail in making a bad recording. It has very good sound and the orchestration is precise. The first 40 seconds of the first piece contain the most emotion and beauty of any piece I have ever heard, and the choir perform very well. For the price, this is a steal, so make sure and pick it up."

Norrington superior in every department

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 01/17/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This 1992 Naxos recording is unfortunately not suitable for anyone wanting to get to know Brahms? German Requiem for the first time. The performance may be acceptable, although I personally think Eduard Tumagian and Miriam Gauci to be too much in the opera vein for this music, but whatever one thinks about that, the quality of the recording, the sound engineering, is unbelievably bad, with the Slovak Philharmonic Choir wasting all its effort because it can scarcely be heard; the Naxos technicians had obviously bitten off more than they could chew with this massive piece. Alexander Rahbari takes the whole work at a comparatively leisurely pace which is calculated to impress with the solemnity of Brahms? music, but I felt that a bit more life would have been a relief. Comparing this disc with the recording by Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players on Virgin Veritas, I was impressed by the superiority of the Virgin disc in every quarter: The recording quality is infinitely better, the tempi are exciting, the choir is delightfully present, and the soloists (Olaf Bär and Lynne Dawson) are much better suited to sacred music. It was only after hearing the Norrington disc that I began to appreciate this music; the Rahbari nearly put me off it for ever.



Note made on 29 December 2005: As with so many Naxos discs, the end result depends very much on the equipment you use to listen to it. I have just been listening to Rahbari's "German Requiem" again on some superior new equipment (Benchmark D/A converter plus Lehmann Audio Class A headphone amp), and although I would still stay that the engineering leaves a lot to be desired, it became obvious that the performance was not nearly as weak as I had thought from previous listenings. The soloists both have lovely voices, especially Miriam Gauci, although her enunciation of the German text is less than satisfactory. The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra produces some lovely sounds, and the choir appears to be doing rather well too - if only the engineers had got the balance better!! The sung text is printed in the booklet - if it weren't, nobody would be able to follow what is sung."