Search - Johannes Brahms, Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic :: Bruno Walter Conducts Brahms: The Four Symphonies

Much Better on French Sony

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 11/02/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Bruno Walter's superb first Brahms symphony cycle was recorded in very fine monophonic, high fidelity sound between 1951 and 1953 in New York by American Columbia. A few years later, the introduction of stereo persuaded Columbia to re-record the music with Dr. Walter in Los Angeles, using a pick-up orchestra drawn from first-rate players in the LA Philharmonic and the various Hollywood movie studios. Those stereo recordings have never been out of the catalog, and the current CD transfers by Sony are splendid and widely available. That said, the earlier mono performances are both more passionate and more disciplined than the stereo re-makes, and I've always preferred them. But not as presented in this set where the recording's original sound is pinched and cramped and made to become distinctly low-fidelity. In fact, it sounds like these CDs were transferred from Lp copies! Luckily, you don't need to settle for such compromises because French Sony has issued these same performance on two separate, beautiful-sounding CDs that were transferred from the master tapes; you can buy them right here at Amazon. If you're interested in these magnificent performances, see the reviews I've written for the French Sony discs. As for this Italian knock off: buyer beware!"

What's the best way to get Walter's early Brahms?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In Dec. 1953 Bruno Walter and the NY Phil. recorded the Brahms Sym. #1, 2 and 3 over a three-week period in Carnegie Hall. They had already recorded Sym. #4 in 1951 in the same venue. Throughout the monophonic era, these were considered equal to, or at least an alternate to, Toscanini's Brahms cycle. In the stereo era Walter remade the Brahms symphonies with the Columbia Sym. in Los Angeles, and even though aficionados claimed that the earlier set was musically more exciting, the mono cycle has officially stayed out of print until a few years ago. It is now available in Europe on a mid-price Sony two-fer (Walter's tempos were often fast--they significatnly slowed down only after he retired to L.A. in his late seventies--and he is one of the few conductors whose complete Brahms symphonies fit onto 2 CDs).



During the decades when the official recordings were unavailable, pirate copies circulated freely. The ones listed here are Italian pirates, but I also have a private version on the Idlewild label made from excellent old LPs. Naturally, I wanted to replace them with Sony's set, presumably struck from the original masters. I ordered it from the U.K. nad compared the two.



Which brings me to the point of this review. Sony, sadly enough, did not remasster the originals, which contrary to the reviewer below were not in very good mono. There is a noticeable edge to the sound and the acoustic is dry and boxy. Loud climaxes cause noticable microphone overload. The new Sony CDs sound only slightly better than Idlewild's; I would defy anyone to pick either as superior to the other without careful scrutiny. If you have any decent transfer of the LPs (these would be legal now that the copyright has expired), I would advise you not to waste your money on Sony's nonexistent remastering.



P.S. Jan. 2008 -- Mr. Holdini urges readers to ignore my claim that the Sony version of Walter's Brahms isn't that much better than good transfers from LPs.NOt to belabor the point, but Mortimer H. Grank, one of Fanfare magazine's experts on isotircal recordings, agrees with every point I made. Until we get a good remastering, even the best CD transfers don't deaprt very far from the old LPs, which wre no prize to begin with."

This set is an LP transfer - Avoid

Giacomo Holdini | Portland, Oregon | 01/07/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The performances included in this set are among the best ever recorded of the Brahms symphonies. Listeners familiar only with Walter's stereo recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra might be surprised to hear a much leaner, more tightly-wound and urgent approach from the conductor on these recordings with the NYPO. Tempos are considerably more brisk than on the stereo versions, rhythms are tighter, and the music is infused with a drama that is lacking in the later recordings. If anything, Walter's style in these 1950s recordings is more reminiscent of Toscanini than of Walter in the 1960s, but Walter still infuses his interpretations with his characteristic lyricism and flexibility. Whether these performances are superior to the stereo versions is a subjective call, of course. Personally, I greatly prefer the NYPO recordings, and include them on my short list of essential Brahms symphony sets. In my opinion, they are true classics of the gramophone.



Unfortunately, the sound in the set offered here by Italian label IDI is unacceptable. Despite IDI's claims that this set was "restored" at "24 bit & 96 KHz," it is clear upon listening to these discs that the transfers are from an LP source of unkown origin and poor quality, rather than the original tape recordings licensed from Sony. Neither the packaging nor the liner notes of this set make any mention of the actual source used, presumably because to mention it would only draw attention to the fact the source was substandard. For some unfathomable reason, they list the SPARS code as "ADD," which is nothing short of fraudulent. Make no mistake: this set is many generations removed from the original session tapes, and comes complete with turntable rumble, needle pops, peak distortion, and the like, sounding much more like it was recorded on wax 78s prior to WWII, rather than on mono tape in the early 1950s.



The good news is that CDs sourced from the original analogue tapes are available from Sony. They were available for a time on the French Sony label, but are now available from Sony UK*. Admittedly, the sound of the Sony discs is still limited. They do not sound as full or rich as Walter's mono Mozart recordings with the NYPO, and are not in the same league as Eugen Jochum's mono Berlin set of the Brahms symhonies on Deutsche Gramophon, both recorded around the time Walter recorded this Brahms set. Still, the Sony discs present acceptable mono recordings for their era, and are light years beyond this IDI set. The LP flaws present in the IDI set are absent from the Sony transfers; the latter also features greater frequency response and clarity. The SPARS code on the Sony set is "ADD," indicating that the engineers did do a digital transfer from the original analogue tapes, although the liner notes in my French set make no mention of when the transfer was done, or what technology was used. A newer, more technologically advanced transfer and mastering might provide superior results to what the Sony discs currently offer, or it could simply be that the Sony set gives us the best we can expect from the source. Either way, the Sony set provides the best results currently available commercially. Assuming most customers newly acquiring these performances will likely be choosing between the Italian IDI set and the Sony set, the choice is a no-brainer. Avoid the IDI set and get the Sony discs without hesitation.



*The Sony UK set is available directly from Amazon UK, and is offered here through various Marketplace sellers (Brahms : Symphonies n? 1 Ó 4)."