BaL 5.10.24 - Brahms: Symphony 1

[duncan]

I am intrigued by the mention of a live 1999 from RFH. Of course Karajan had been deceased for about a decade by then, but I assume that you are referring to a release date. Can you provide some details?

Oh dear! I meant 1989... must take the tablets before posting.

[Petrushka]

Oh dear! I meant 1989... must take the tablets before posting.

That concert was on October 6 1988 and is available on a Testament CD. I tried to book for the concert but it was sold out by the time my application was in.

[richardfinegold]

That concert was on October 6 1988 and is available on a Testament CD. I tried to book for the concert but it was sold out by the time my application was in.

The orchestra was BPO, VPO, or…

[Petrushka]

The orchestra was BPO, VPO, or…

BPO. The Testament CD is SBT 1431.

[Alison]

To me it was a fashion conscious decision from Katy H. Didn’t you just know it wasn’t to be the HvK which both she and Andrew had rather laughed at earlier on? Not many insights from a supposed Brahms specialist. I found the references to beards and the different sorts of Brahms a shade facile and unhelpful.

[Barbirollians]

To me it was a fashion conscious decision from Katy H. Didn’t you just know it wasn’t to be the HvK which both she and Andrew had rather laughed at earlier on? Not many insights from a supposed Brahms specialist. I found the references to beards and the different sorts of Brahms a shade facile and unhelpful.

Yes and I suspect a deliberate choice of reviewer unlikely to go for Furtwangler again!

[Nick Armstrong]

To me it was a fashion conscious decision from Katy H. Didn’t you just know it wasn’t to be the HvK which both she and Andrew had rather laughed at earlier on? Not many insights from a supposed Brahms specialist. I found the references to beards and the different sorts of Brahms a shade facile and unhelpful.

Ditto!

(I was glad the live LPO/Jurowski was included - acquired years ago as the companion work to No 2 which mopped the floor with all-comers in the opinion of the French critics of La Tribune…)

[Petrushka]

I've just listened to Karajan's 1952 recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra and found it to be very fine indeed, sounding terrific in the Warner Official Remastered Edition issue, done an amazing 10 years ago. Is that Dennis Brain on solo horn does anyone know? Was he in the Philharmonia in 1952?

It goes to show that you can't just leave these older recordings out of consideration

[cloughie]

I've just listened to Karajan's 1952 recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra and found it to be very fine indeed, sounding terrific in the Warner Official Remastered Edition issue, done an amazing 10 years ago. Is that Dennis Brain on solo horn does anyone know? Was he in the Philharmonia in 1952?

It goes to show that you can't just leave these older recordings out of consideration

Two on Testament worth a listen - Toscanini with the Philharmonia from 1952 and BPO Kempe from 1959.

[Petrushka]

Two on Testament worth a listen - Toscanini with the Philharmonia from 1952 and BPO Kempe from 1959.

I've got the Kempe but have somehow managed to miss the Toscanini. Eduard van Beinum with the Concertgebouw is another cracker. I've been binging on the Brahms 1 for the past fortnight or so and have barely scratched the surface yet.

[richardfinegold]

BPO. The Testament CD is SBT 1431.

Doesn’t appear to be available on the Presto streaming service (I’m doing a 30 day trial) nor the CD on Amazon

[Petrushka]

Doesn’t appear to be available on the Presto streaming service (I’m doing a 30 day trial) nor the CD on Amazon

It's on both Amazon and Presto. If you put 'Karajan testament' in the search boxes of either, it will come up. I've just tried it and it does.

[smittims]

While we're mentining other versions, and since Furtwangler has featured, I'll mention two or three other recordings of his apart from the famous 1952 Vienna :

Vienna Philharmonic, November 1947. This was an HMV studio recording produced by Walter Legge. Ward Marston did a fine Naxos remastering of it.

North German radio Orchestra, Hamburg, October 1951. John Ardoin called it 'granitelike and dramatic, ominous and tragic.' I know it from a 1996 Maggi Payne remastering published by Musicand ArtsAmerica.

Berlin Philharmonic, Titania-Palast, February 1952. This was issued on a DG LP inthe 1970s and is in the 2019 DG 'Wilhelm Furtwangler' box.

[oliver sudden]

Berlin Philharmonic, Titania-Palast, February 1952. This was issued on a DG LP inthe 1970s and is in the 2019 DG 'Wilhelm Furtwangler' box.

Not absolutely sure but I think I followed the catalogue number given for the Hewett BaL recommendation and this was the one it led to… (it’s certainly the Furtwängler Brahms 1 I’ve been listening to over the last few days)

[smittims]

Yes, they're easily confused because the dates were very close ; the Vienna was 27 January 1952.

Some of Furtwangler's recordings are difficult to date and identify. There's a 1952 Eroica with the Vienna Phil which Vox published as 'Berlin Philharmonic'. And I have a supposedly 1942 Brahms 4 which is suspiciously similar to the 1943 Berlin recording issued by Music and Arts. I'm told a lot of paper records were destroyed by fire during the allied bombing.