Andrew Manze/Helsingborg SO/Brahms

[richardfinegold]

I have been listening to the above set of Brahms Symphonies for the past two weeks now. I have enjoyed Manze as a performer in Early Music but have not had a chance to experience him in any Romantic Music. I was intrigued by this set for a few reasons, but I was hoping that the combination of a smaller orchestra, some HIP influences, and the SACD technology would clarify and enliven some of Brahms textures and be a nice complement to the many other sets that I have.
In general my hopes have been fulfilled and this is a satisfying set. There are some tempo extremes here, and they aren't all on the quick side. The Second movement of the Second Symphony is taken at a very slow tempo, but there is a vitality to the phrasing and the rubato that
saves it from being ponderous. The outer movements of the the First are played at a brisk jog that is very exciting.
The relative lightness of the Orchestra is a for the most part a virtue, particularly in Symphonies 2 and 3, but sometimes their lack of heft is a drawback, as in most of the Fourth. The Haydn Variations and the Overtures are well played and overall I give this a big

[jayne lee wilson]

Overjoyed that someone else has finally discovered this - I've been namedropping its virtues on Brahms threads for many a month to little reaction. Somewhere deep in the forum mists and fogs there's a detailed, comparative review I did of No.3... at the time I marked it down slightly against Berglund/COE in the third, but I think it would be honours even now.

Since then, my admiration has only increased - I don't share your feelings about the 4th though: either as CD or 24/48 file it comes across here with terrific energy, punch and some finesse - a great performance. Were you listening to the SACD? They will all differ within a given system...

With the reviews, IRR's excellent Nigel Simeone acclaimed it, but I felt (very unusually) that RO in the Gramophone slightly missed the point by bringing "classic" older sets by Klemperer et al into the discussion... compare them stylistically, yes, but ranking against...?

[Karafan]

Well, you sold me on it JLW and it arrived on Saturday morning. Haven't yet had the chance to audition it, but I'm steeling myself for great things! :-)

[richardfinegold]

Overjoyed that someone else has finally discovered this - I've been namedropping its virtues on Brahms threads for many a month to little reaction. Somewhere deep in the forum mists and fogs there's a detailed, comparative review I did of No.3... at the time I marked it down slightly against Berglund/COE in the third, but I think it would be honours even now.

Since then, my admiration has only increased - I don't share your feelings about the 4th though: either as CD or 24/48 file it comes across here with terrific energy, punch and some finesse - a great performance. Were you listening to the SACD? They will all differ within a given system...



With the reviews, IRR's excellent Nigel Simeone acclaimed it, but I felt (very unusually) that RO in the Gramophone slightly missed the point by bringing "classic" older sets by Klemperer et al into the discussion... compare them stylistically, yes, but ranking against...?

I'm sorry, jlw, that I seem to have missed your posts extolling it. This set isn't available on my side of the pond and I had to order it as an import.
To clarify, I wasn't stating that the recording of the 4th lacked excitement or energy. I was stating that I missed some of the mass that a larger orchestra can impart. I knew that when ordering the cycle that it would be a leaner version of Brahms, and I very much appreciate the benefits that this slimmed down set has, but inevitably there are bound to be some tradeoffs. I have actually only listened to the SACD, both in two and multichannel. I'm queing up #4 as I type this.
I think it would be reasonable for a reviewer to compare this set to a classic set such as Klemperer, but the purpose of the comparison should be to illustrate differences in the respective approaches, not to compare them as two sets of recordings that have the same set of goals.
I will be interest in Karafan's take on these recordings when he gets around to auditioning them.