Search - Johannes Brahms, Mario Klemens, Johannes Wildner :: Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Tragic Overture

Winning

David Saemann | 02/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What is the point of acquiring a Brahms First for 2.99? First of all, the Phiharmonia Cassovia is a good, but not great orchestra. You will not mistake it for the Philadelphia under Ormandy or the Chicago under Solti. Nevertheless, they play with good ensemble and have some very Slavic sounding first chair players, particularly the horn and the clarinet. Mario Klemens has made a number of recordings of film music and of symphonic works outside the standard repertoire. Here he shows that he has a lot to say about Brahms. His tempos are well conceived and sturdy, and the performance proceeds with good momentum and no sense of rushing. His tempos for the big theme of the last movement and of the final chorale are sensible but not self-indulgent. The violin solo in the second movement is lovingly played. Unless you must hear Brahms played by only world-class orchestras, this is a highly rewarding CD. The Tragic Overture, conducted by Johannes Wildner--who is well known for his many recordings on Naxos and Amadis--goes very well indeed, in somewhat warmer sound engineering than for the Symphony, which was recorded (rather well) a year earlier. The people at Naxos and Amadis are well known for finding interesting, capable musicians outside the international spotlight who have valuable musical lessons to convey, and this CD is no exception to that rule."