Search - Various :: BRAHMS: Edition - Complete Works

Enjoy a few weeks with Brahms

Michael Schell | www.schellsburg.com | 07/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As with Brilliant's Mozart, Bach and Chopin complete sets, the 60 CD Brahms set represents excellent value, particularly if you can land it from one of Amazon's European sites, which often offer Brilliant sets for far less than shown here. I obtained mine in early 2008 from Amazon's French site, at a considerable discount (as a foreigner I didn't have to pay sales tax, which offset most of the shipping costs).



The quality of the performances is generally high, comparable to Brilliant's complete Beethoven set. But unlike the Beethoven set, where Brilliant reached back to the 1950s to fill out some of the piano and chamber music repertory, these Brahms recordings are all modern. Some of the concertos are weak spots, but these are among the works you're most likely to already have in your library. The symphonies come in the form of recent recordings by Jaap Van Zweden and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (replaced in the Second by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Holland). These interpretations have been highly praised by some (Christopher Howell's review at MusicWeb) and more modestly praised by others (Michael Cookson's review on the same site). Do read those reviews. I'll add that I find the performances quite interesting, with the Third and Fourth the most compelling, and the Second suffering somewhat from the inferior intonation of its performers (e.g., the wind chord concluding the third movement). There are some interesting points of emphasis. For example, Van Zweden takes the opening of the First Symphony notably faster than most conductors -- justifiably so, since it's marked "un POCO sostenuto" (not "molto maestoso"). Somewhat odder is the contrabassoon fetish evidently possessed by either the engineer or the conductor (its entrances in soft woodwind passages are often quite prominent). The bottom line: it's a worthy addition to some well worn territory, perhaps not definitive (after all, you're up against the world's best with this repertory), but you'll definitely hear a few new things in these interpretations.



I find the chamber music to be quite good. The string quartets are handled by the Tokyo String Quartet (the Vox recordings from 1986). The all-important piano quintet and horn trios are compelling (Nash Ensemble). A nice inclusion is the original two-piano version of the piano quintet (Op. 34b), which I had not heard previously. The solo piano works shouldn't disappoint either. The most important of these (the Ballades, Rhapsodies, Op. 76 pieces and late masterworks Opp. 116-119) are handled by Håkon Austbø, who is also featured on Brilliant's Grieg Centenary Edition set. They are to be praised for making quality performances of all of Brahms' incredible chamber and piano music available at this price.



Interestingly, over one-third of the set consists of vocal and choral music, including more than a dozen CDs devoted to songs with piano accompaniment, a genre that was well worn by Romantic composers eager to supplement their income streams, but which in Brahms case ended up being completely overshadowed by his orchestral, chamber and piano music. Aside from the famous Lullaby, none of Brahms's songs are well known in North America. The bulk of his a cappella choral music, which occupies several more CDs, is likewise obscure, perhaps understandably given their didactic origins (to be "sung, not listened to"). The recordings of these vocal and choral works make up perhaps the most consistently praised part of Brilliant's set. Most of this music isn't vintage Brahms, but you won't regret the performances.



All this said, there are some unfortunate flaws that I hope don't presage a slackening of Brilliant's production standards. Missing from the "Complete Works" are the arrangements of the horn and clarinet trio for violin/viola/piano and viola/cello/piano respectively (note the unusual piano trio configuration with a viola replacing an expected string instrument). Then there's the following:



1. CD 4, Track 1 (Academic Festival Overture): two bad glitches at 4:04 and 4:07, at the entrance of the bassoon theme. These sound to me like clipping at the mastering stage (they don't register as errors on my CD playback equipment)

2. CD 9, Track 1: glitch right at the opening of the Violin Concerto. This sounds like dropout rather than clipping, so I'm guessing this is a duplication error

3. Most embarrassing of all: on CD 22, the last four tracks purport to be Brahms long-lost A major piano trio (Op. Posth.). In fact what's presented is Schumann's F major trio, Op. 80. Ouch



Perhaps these technical flaws will be corrected in a subsequent release. Per the comments received to this review, others have noticed these flaws too, so they're not confined to my copy of the set (and I've not gotten a response from Brilliant Classics).



So where does that leave us? Lovers of Brahms and art music, and CD collectors, will be interested in this set, even if only to fill out gaps in their libraries. At a bargain price like this, you could reasonably throw away half the CDs and keep the rest if you're so inclined. If you haven't yet heard much of the music in the set, including the more obscure vocal music, then it's certainly worth the price. The packaging is attractive: you get color-coded stiff cardboard sleeves like in the Bach complete edition, rather than the paper sleeves of the Mozart edition. Points off for a few lame recordings (e.g., the string concertos), and the technical flaws. I'll give it four stars. Snap up this set, and enjoy a few weeks with the man who is possibly the 19th Century's second greatest composer."

Good budget set.

J.B. | Seattle, WA USA | 06/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having spent additional time with this set, I'm updating my review. I'd say I've listened to about half of it.



Orchestral music: The symphonies are okay, although there's better performances out there. The Double Concerto isn't bad... but the rest of them are uneven, especially the Violin Concerto, with sluggish playing. I'll be supplementing the concerti with other recordings. The smaller orchestral works were hit and miss, with the overtures coming out the worst. The Haydn Variations were lovely though.



Chamber music: The Cello Sonatas are the weak link in this set but the rest are very solid, especially the the Piano Quintet, Horn Trio and Piano Quartets. There's some additional two-piano/four handed material at the end which sounded fine to my ears (although none of it is really top-drawer Brahms).



Piano music: Mostly good. The piano sonatas are all a little sloppy but everything else is well-performed (especially the sadistically challenging Variations).



Vocal music with orchestra: I didn't listen to much of the Requiem but it sounded okay (aside from a shrill soprano soloist). My favorite Brahms work (the Alto Rhapsody) was taken at a tempo far faster than I prefer but I'm slowly getting used to it and the soloist is good. The smaller choral works are good, if just a tad under-reheared.



Choral music: This set has been released separately and it is *very* strong. No complaints here.



Lieder: Aside from the EXTREMELY irritating way this music has been programmed (completely out of order, with duets and solo songs interspersed randomly through 13 CDs), these mostly underrated pieces come off pretty well. There are undoubtedly finer performances with bigger name singers (and pianists) but no one embarrasses themselves (admirable given that *ALL* of these songs were recorded very quickly last year). As a sidenote, there are a few songs that are missing and I'm not sure why as otherwise, this set is very complete (including a fair amount of the works without opus number).



Organ Works: Just one disc for these. They sounded okay but I'm not the best one to judge, as organ music isn't my forte.



Overall, I don't consider this set as consistent as the complete Mozart edition... but as a performer, I've always found Brahms harder to pull off and none of these performances are ghastly. For the price, it's a great deal and you can supplement the performances you don't like with other ones."

A no-brainer on many levels ....

JC ESQ | Baltimore MD | 11/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I won't try to top Mr. Schell's excellent review, but here are a few other salient points to consider:



1. The recorded sound is excellent. As of this writing, I've listened to 10 discs in full, and have randomly sampled about half of the rest of the set. Aside from the few glitches mentioned (which I can easily overlook, considering the price I paid), the sound is uniformly transparent and detailed. While not, say, on the level of Hyperion or ECM, the sound will not disappoint. As an audiophile, I'd rate it as 8+ overall.



2. I find the cardboard carrying box cheesy, though sturdy, and don't use it. I have all 60 discs on one of my shelves, in their cardboard sleeves. Occupied space: 5.5 inches.



3. Each sleeve has detailed track and movement information and timings, as well as names of performers, and, sometimes, recording information such as venues and dates. If the recording was licensed from another company, that information is listed.



4. There is a disc # 61, a CD-ROM "digital guide", in English, and readable on both Mac and Windows machines. All files are PDF. There is an introduction, track listings per CD, a biography of Brahms, liner notes, and texts of all vocal works. All items except the track listings are printable, but the track listings are on the cardboard sleeves anyway.



5. If you're going to buy this set, and I recommend that you do, then check out one of Amazon's European sites. I got this set from Amazon France, and with shipping, it cost me less than $44.00. I have saved hundreds of dollars lately by using Amazon's overseas sites and their vendor-partners to purchase classical box sets.



Even if you, like me, already have a lot of Brahms on your shelves, you'll not regret buying this box. It will bring hours and hours of listening pleasure."