Search - Brahms, Lso, Kertesz :: Brahms: Serenades Nos. 1 & 2 [Germany]

Very fine Kertesz/Brahms, but sound deserves remastering.

Jeffrey Lee | Asheville area, NC USA | 12/30/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These vital and charming pieces just keep growing on me. Years back, when I first started listening to them I was fairly conscious of some of the less mature aspects of Brahms' early compositional style. As time passed, however, repeated listening gave way to greater acceptance and appeciation of these serenades in their various parts and as a whole. In many places, especially in the First Serenade, Kertesz displays an extroverted, outdoorsy quality that allows melodies to soar. However, I have a complaint about an aspect of recording's sound quality. In several passsages horns come across as peaky. Decca's usually high standards are lacking here. Reproduction on both the British lp and the cassette (both of which I have) has greater presence and better balance. In any event, listening to Mackerras' versions of these scores, where he uses a down-sized orchestra, ostensibly for a more realistic presentation, (since, we are told, this is how these pieces were originally performed), leaves me unimpressed. Additionally, in contrast to Kertesz, I find Mackerras' often slower tempos quite unsatisfying. Nor can he match Kertesz' elan and brilliantly rich contrasts of color and light and shade or his moments of grandeur. These performances by Istvan Kertesz constitute an extremely fine offering from a marvelous conductor whose very promising career was cut short early by an accidental death. I feel they are among the elite accounts of his musical legacy.



*Postscript: At the time of my review, this cd had been pressed in Australia. Some time later, it underwent a German remastering, which seems to have eliminated the occasional stridency in the horns."

Kertesz At His Best

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Both of the Brahms Serenades were written when the composer was in his twenties. The First Serenade is one of his most lyrical and engaging works - it's the sort of thing one might choose to introduce a newcomer to Brahms' music. But the 2nd Serenade has always struck me as a bit turgid and uninspired. It really only springs to life in the third mvt. I have tried to remedy the situation by surveying a fairly wide variety of performances, but even Rosbaud (Mercury LP) and Bongartz (Eterna LP) - both of which I find marginally preferable to this Kertesz - fail to convince me otherwise.



Kertesz provides what I feel is the most successful pairing of Brahms' Serenades on disc. These are youthful works, and Kertesz plays them with ingenuous freshness and chooses tempos that strike me as well-judged.



So I can heartily recommend this disc to anyone who wants a well-played and congenial pairing. Unfortunately, the sound on this CD is inferior to the LP originals - it's rather hard and glaring and has some strange balances. Perhaps a re-mastering and re-issue is in order.



If you are primarily interested in the First Serenade - as I am - then watch for a re-issue of the wonderful Stokowski account with the Symphony of the Air (formerly Toscanini's NBC Symphony). It was originally on a Decca LP, but somehow found its way onto a short-lived MCA Classics CD. Stokowski could be a highly mannered and unpredictable conductor, but in this work he was on his best behavior - it's even more joyous and better played than the Kertesz, and it had better sound as well. It was quite simply the finest account I have ever heard - or ever expect to hear. Try to find a copy and I'm sure you'll see what I mean."

One of the best pairing of the two serenades I've heard

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one occasion when another reviewer (Mr. Lipscomb) has written exactly what I wanted to say. Kertesz gives fresh, energetic readings of both Brahms Serenades, the first of which is among his sunniest works, while the second is more inward, even sombre (Brahms scored it without violins, which considerably darkens the timbre). Stokowski has a wonderful, unmannered Serenade #1, but Kertesz is a shade more vibrant. For some reason these two lovely works haven't been terribly successful on records. Bernstein made a very good Serenade #2 during his MY Phil. days, but among major conductors the version by Tilson Thomas is lackluster, with only Haitink outdoing Kertesz in vitality. Boult has his moments but often rushes the tempo badly. Abbado's versions are out of print unless you buy his complete Brahms orchestral cycle (I haven't heard the performances in a long while, but the very early recording of the Serenade #2 was greeted warmly, I believe). Which leaves this CD, played beautifully by the Vienna Phil. yet recorded in rather glaring sound. No matter, it's a very satisfying listening experience, one to brighten up any cloudy day (a rare thing to say about Brahms).



P.S. - Since writing this review I've heard both Serenades performed by Abbado and Haitink, and I feel that the Haitink ranks as the top choice for this pairing. Abbado is also quite fine, on a par with Kertesz, but his performances are hampered by edgy digital transfers from DG."