Brahms symphonies Barenboim DG - a rave review can you resist ?

[Barbirollians]

A rave review for this new set in Gramophone this month from RO with a slight caveat for no 4 .

Anyone heard or bought this set ? Pastoralguy I know was tempted ?

[Lordgeous]

Afraid I'm rarely tempted by anything Barenboim produces! Guess I'm in the minority though.

[DracoM]

I certainly can resist.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Probably (if past experience is anything to go by) more to my taste than Rattle's - but at around £30 (and with each Symphony - including the Third - taking up an entire CD with no "fillers") I'll wait until the re-issues on three mid-price discs (or if I see them in a Charity shop).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

On the other hand, Bernard Michael O'Hanlon gives the set only three stars on his Amazon "review" - so it's probably even better than Richard Osborne suggests!

[teamsaint]

think I’d rather blow the £30 on the three new All That Dust CDs.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

think I’d rather blow the £30 on the three new All That Dust CDs.

[cloughie]

You could always get his Chicago recordings on Warner which include the HV and Ovs for about a third of the price. Barenboim's new recordings are often mentioned in these threads but not his 'previous'. Does nobody like them eg his LPO Elgar, or his CSO Schumann. Do boarders think he had a 'Road to Damascus' moment on his way to forming the Divan Orchestra and any of his earlier recordings are discounted? He has been coducting now for 45+ years!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

He's been conducting (and not just from the keyboard) for over fifty years, cloughie - and I have a very high regard for many of his recordings from throughout his career. There was recently a discussion on the Forum about who conducts Berlioz these days, and I think it's a pity that DB seems to have "withdrawn" from this repertoire: his Orch de Paris recordings were excellent. I also think that his DG Bruckner cycle deserves more plaudits than it often receives - a magnificent Sixth on that set, and the only recording DB has made (so far) of the "Noughth". His marvellous Wagner recordings also predate his "Divan" years - as do his recordings with (and of) Boulez.

And, of course, that wonderful Saint-Saens "Organ" Symphony (and what would have been the best ever recording of Samson et Dalila ... if it weren't for the Dalila! The CBS Elgar recordings were very good, too.

[Alain Maréchal]

I heard movements 2-4 on symphony 4 on France Musque recently, and the sound was splendid, but I have read unflattering mentions of ensemble problems and carelessness. They matter little to me.

<<his Orch de Paris recordings were excellent>>. Yes they were, but it was during his tenure that he removed all remaining traces of traditional Parisian orchestral colour, for which I find it hard to forgive him.

[AmpH]

Available on Quobuz and Spotify I see, so for those who stream, opportunities to listen to reach an informed view.

[richardfinegold]

Available on Quobuz and Spotify I see, so for those who stream, opportunities to listen to reach an informed view.

I listened to the First on Spotify today. I heard DB conduct all the Brahms Symphonies when he was MD here through the years, and the local radio would typically feature his recordings here. For me, there was nothing new here, except for the difference in Orchestral sound. The inner movements in particular are enervating, and DB keeps trying to summon his inner Furtwangler in the outer movementsSo if you have enjoyed DB in this repertoire before, he’s all yours with no surprises . I think it would be a completely unnecessary purchase in view of the 200 other competing versions, but ymmv. I am currently listening to Horenstein with the Southwest German Radio Orchestra in the same work to clear the cobwebs from DB

[visualnickmos]

The only Barenboim/Brahms that I own, is his Chicago Symphony Orchestra set - I like it very much.

[Stanfordian]

A rave review for this new set in Gramophone this month from RO with a slight caveat for no 4 .

Anyone heard or bought this set ? Pastoralguy I know was tempted ?

I've not heard the album yet. But the Staatskapelle Berlin is one hell of an orchestra and respond well to Barenboim, so I'll be listening to the set as soon as I can.

[Bryn]

I've not heard the album yet. But the Staatskapelle Berlin is one hell of an orchestra and respond well to Barenboim, so I'll be listening to the set as soon as I can.

Did you not hear the finale of the 2nd at the end of this morning's Sunday Morning?