Giulini lets the music do the talking. Kubelik dances.
02/22/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In this Brahms sym #4, Giulini lets the work flow naturally and gracefully. You almost get the feeling that the music plays itself, and reaches you untouched. That's the reason why I listened to this CD all weekend after I got it. Giulini's respect for the natural inner beauty of the work makes this Brahms 4 unsurpassed, and that holds for the Haydn variations as well. In fact this CD is my favourite CD all categories. (Giulinis Brahms #1 with LAPh is of the same kind, although I for the #1 prefer other more lively interpretations, letting Giulini serve as a relaxed contrast.)Kubelik reveals in the Hungarian dances the same bohemian (or mahrian?) song and dance as in his Mahler 5. After I heard his Mahler 5, I think any other interpretation is nothing but depression. The Hungarian dances on this CD of course is a less important work, but I still believe they deserve the highest rank. Kubeliks displays the joy as well as the darkness, and he dances.Brahms violin concert then... This is one of the few works where I appreciate many different interpretations. It is rich enough to be interpreted again and again. Yehudi Menuhin is one of the essential interpreters. Menuhin plays the Kreisler cadenza, the one that scratches best of them all. Therefore it is absolutely no waste to get also a Menuhin recording. I already had the Furtwangler/Menuhin, so I'm not hungry enough to judge the Kempe/Menuhin fairly. However it is of course a solid performance (and in stereo)."