Hooray, the reissue these performances deserve!
John Grabowski | USA | 06/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a hard-to-find CD (in stores) but thankfully it's now on Amazon (didn't used to be). A different release of this same music has a picture of windblown clouds with the vapor trail of a jet (Herbie's private plane?) and trees in the lower background. That issue, however, which has been out for about 15 years now, suffers from poor sound--hissiness and distortion at crescendoes. And this isn't due to the masters, because I also have this on vinyl, and, wear and tear aside, the sound is fine. Also, HvK's Brahms 1st from the same series has been reissued on the DG Originals series, and the sound is superb there as well.
But this limited edition French version of the 2nd and 3rd Symphonies is excellently remastered. Buy with confidence! The printing is all in French, and the case is a (strong) cardboard foldout jobber rather than (breakable) plastic, but who cares? You can Google the histories of these works if you're curious and enjoy the superior sound and performances here. And when it comes to the 2nd especially, this is a superior performance indeed, with just the epic-yet-intimate qualities this music requires. Only Bruno Walter gives this a serious run for the money, and the recording I have with Bruno doesn't feature as good an orchestra.
This was Herbie's first run with these symphonies for DG. It is one of my very favorite recordings of No. 2 out there. Karajan is often accused of being too soft-edged and thick with the strings, but this is, to my ears, just what the doctor ordered for the Second, and those glorious Berlin strings shine. (Somehow British or American or Russian ochestras can't compete in this kind of music.) Karajan has a great sense of the architecture of this music; be forwarned he does not take repeats, but I don't care, I don't feel it diminishes this performance. In fact, Brahms himself, near the end of his life, begged a conductor to omit the repeats in a performance of the second symphony. The conductor was surprised, because at the premiere Brahms had taken them all. Brahms supposedly replied, "No one knew the tunes then."
But we all know the tunes now. And what glorious tunes they are. Some conductors almost seem embarrassed to take the Big Themes in all their glory, as though this symphony is too naive or something. Well, that was the essence of Brahms--a crotchety old guy who was really a big softie at heart. And that heart is on his sleeve in this work. The Finale is the most exuberant, thrilling reading I've ever heard (save for another, earlier Karajan perfomrnace, on EMI.) The energy is exhilerating; this is Brahms in love with the world.
The 3rd symphony is somewhat less successful, but that's not surprising. There are few recordings in existence where the conductor seems to know what to do with this enigmatic work. Even the great Furtwangler couldn't seem to decide if this is an intimate or thunderous work. The only conductor who has gotten this just right of all the recordings I've heard (Jochum, Solti, Barenboim, Masur, Furtwangler, Karajan, Bernstein, Mengelberg) is Mravinsky, with the former Leningrad Philharmonic, on BMG/Melodiya. Yet, I can't put into words *why* that recording works so well, so I've yet to review it.
As for this CD, grab it before it disappears again. Why this particular 2nd hasn't made it to the prestigious "Originals" series is a mystery, but it's one of the great performances. Oh, where are the conductors today who can summon Brahms with such towering authority?
"
Great performances, but the sound is the same
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"With all due respect to Mr. Grabowski, I own both this French pressing and the original one that DG released in the U.S., and I don't hear any miraculous difference in sound. I wish I did, since these 1964 recordings from Karajan are arguably his best of the Brahms Second and Third. I've reviewed them elsewhere, so I won't repeat myself. As to the sonics, there's no indication on the jacket that a new remastering was made, and my ears tell me the same thing when I put the two versions on side by side. Sorry.
P. S. - In Karajan's centennial year, 2008, DG finally did the right ting and released remastered versions of the Brahms #2, 3, and 4 from the Sixites. The First was already available."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1