For most listeners' purposes, Riccardo Chailly's set of Johannes Brahms' four symphonies will seem standard-issue, with respectable and uncontroversial interpretations from an esteemed conductor, and rich and resonant performances by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Even in the choice of filler pieces, the set includes the three orchestral works that are usually packaged with the symphonies: the Tragic Overture, the Haydn Variations, and the Academic Festival Overture. However, this set offers welcome suprises and extra value for the purchase. Two orchestral arrangements of the Interludes, Opp. 116 and 117 for piano, are included, along with instrumental versions of a handful of Liebeslieder Waltzes and three of the orchestrated Hungarian Dances, which may be incentives to listeners who are looking for a little more. Also included are Brahms' original version of the Andante of the First Symphony and the alternate opening of the Fourth. But no one should invest in a set solely on the basis of these extras, however unusual they may be. Since first recording the cycle with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, where he offered a rather heavy-handed modern take on the symphonies, Chailly has gone back to an older, more historically informed style of playing Brahms that was familiar to conductors of the early 20th century. The music is lighter and more transparent, so in some ways, his recordings are sometimes reminiscent of classic performances by Bruno Walter, George Szell, and other revered conductors. For traditionalists, this is a fine set to own, especially if a fresh digital recording is needed.© TiVo

Several recordings have explored the relationship between Mozart and the city of Mannheim, which he visited several times. This Deutsche Grammophon release by the Freiburger Barockorchester and conductor/violinist Gottfried von der Golz may be the best of them. The annotations refer to how Mozart basked in the high regard in which he was held in Mannheim and to how impressed he was with the famed court orchestra there. However, after hearing this release, the listener may be tempted to go even further and assert that the music of Mannheim exerted a strong influence on Mozart in the late 1770s. The entire first half of the program here consists of world premieres, and all of them sound Mozartian. Why? Most of them point toward the big-boned movement structures Mozart loved, even if they don't expand them as far as Mozart would later in his career. Consider the first movement of Christian Cannabich's Symphony No. 55 in C major, with its long passages that move only slowly off the home key; one can hear any number of Mozart movements as proceeding from this idea, and one also wants to hear some more of the numerous and almost completely unplayed symphonies of Cannabich. Even less known are the Mannheim composers Georg Joseph Vogler, Christian Danner, and Carl Joseph Toeschi, and their contributions are eminently listenable. Mozart wraps the program up with a recitative and aria and the unnumbered Symphony in C major, K. 208, assembled by the composer from other music; it absolutely fits in here. The performances are idiomatic, and the sound is excellent. A valuable contribution from von der Goltz and company that landed on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023.© James Manheim /TiVo

Brahms was one of the first composers to write for pairs of violins, violas and cellos, blazing the trail for Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Korngold and Schoenberg. His two sextets are early works, composed in 1860 and 1865 respectively. Brahms wrote to his publisher that the Second was in "the same joyful vein" as the First. Yet the composer’s life was sombre at this time: his mother died suddenly and his romantic relationship with the soprano Agathe von Siebold ended in failure; indeed, the first movement of the Sextet opens with a viola motif on the notes A-G-A-D-B-E (AGADHE in German notation). The members of the Belcea Quartet called in their friends Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras to record these peaks of the chamber repertory following a concert tour to some of Europe’s major venues. © Alpha Classics

The press quickly recognised the perfect accord between German violinist Christian Tetzlaff and English conductor Robin Ticciati after their beautiful recording of Beethoven and Sibelius Concertos, published by Ondine in 2019. They’re back again with a stellar new album centred on two equally famous and much-recorded works: the Brahms and Berg Concertos.A rising star in the world of conducting, Robin Ticciati approaches Brahm’s famous Concerto in D major without any emphasis. He obtains velvety tones and intimate dialogues from the German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin - perfectly in phase with Christian Tetzlaff’s expressive, inventive and personal violin. Far from the interpretation standards established throughout the world by a few celebrated violinists, Tetzlaff seeks musical truth in every phrase, note and inflection, with a refined, yet perfectly natural style. The distraught song of the solo oboe that announces the violin in the 'Adagio' is particularly moving.Following this astonishing concert version, the same instrumental perfection and divine inspiration can be found in Alban Berg’s Concerto dedicated to “the memory of an angel”. This time, the piece is recorded without an audience. Ever since its premiere in 1936, this masterly work has been a classic within the violin and orchestra repertoire. Tetzlaff and Ticciati create a vision of twilight Romanticism, finding magical timbres and intense expression in this masterpiece that mixes mystery with existential questioning. At the climax of its tribute to Manon Gropius, the angel who died at the age of 18, this violin concerto quotes from a Bach chorale, soothing the morbid atmosphere that hovers over this requiem—a prelude to Berg’s own death several months later. © François Hudry/Qobuz

The duo of violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt released a fine live recording of Brahms' violin sonatas in the early 2000s, but they've outdone themselves with this carefully considered and highly original version. The Brahms violin sonatas are middle to late works, and especially the Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, and Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108, give the feeling, the one you so often get from late Brahms, that once you dive into the music you may never come out again: the motivic complications are fearsome. Tetzlaff and Vogt marry the complexity to a gentle spirit that diverges from the earlier recordings. Tetzlaff has a lovely way of taking a little pause during the transition passages, as if to let you reflect on what you've just heard, and Vogt matches him with playing that is both quiet and detailed. Sampling can't do justice to music-making of this kind, but try one of these late-sonata opening movements for an idea of what's on offer here. The rare Brahms Scherzo from the collaborative F-A-E Sonata of 1853 and excellent sound from the Sendesaal Bremen are added attractions in this Ondine release, but the main thing is really masterly and deliberate playing. © TiVo

Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili (whose name appears in the graphics in Georgia's uniquely beautiful script) is a worthy avatar of the great Russian school. Perhaps the strand of that tradition she most recalls is the one flowing from Jascha Heifetz, with his steely tonal perfection, long lines, and grasp of overall structure. These qualities serve Batiashvili well in the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, a work for which there is certainly no shortage of available recordings. Where Batiashvili has the advantage over her peers, however, is in her close relationship with the orchestra here; this is her first recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra, of which she is "Capell-Virtuosin." It shows in her close work with conductor Christian Thielemann at the joints of Brahms' vast first-movement canvas, perhaps the most perfect marriage of sheer virtuosity with profound structural thinking in the history of music. The points at which the movement's intermediate dotted-rhythm theme return and mark the movement's sectional organization are handled with special snap here. Batiashvili, playing a fearsome cadenza by Ferruccio Busoni in the first movement, is technically superb, but she doesn't let technique overwhelm enthusiasm. The other strong point of this performance is the rousing finale, which is not unprecedented but is definitely not common among younger players fearful of stepping out. Again, Batiashvili manages a variety of sharp but not harsh attack to match Thielemann's rhythmic drive. If there's a downside here, it's the conclusion of the album, a trio of Romances for violin and piano, Op. 22, by Clara Schumann. These are worthwhile and underplayed pieces, but an orchestral potboiler would have been better; the music lurches from orchestra to violin-and-piano texture, and the switch in sound environment from the Lukaskirche in Dresden to the Bavaria Musikstudios in Munich is jarring. It sounds as though one recording has been taken off and another one put on. The Brahms is so good that this is no more than a minor complaint, however. Highly recommended.© TiVo

When I can’t be the only one who has the Pavel Haas Quartet’s magnificent Dvořák quintets collaboration with Boris Giltburg and Pavel Nikl still ringing in my ears (and indeed making repeat returns to my stereo), I equally can’t be the only one whose heart is beating faster upon first sight of this Brahms-shaped reunion for them. So, to all of you for whom the above does indeed apply, know that these readings will if anything exceed your already-high expectations. First up is the Op. 34 Piano Quintet in dark F minor, an early-career work which began life in 1862 as a string quintet with two cellos, channelling Schubert’s great C major String Quintet, but which ultimately – at the suggestion of both Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim – needed a second look. In 1864, therefore, Brahms reworked the original to create both a sonata for two pianos and this piano quartet – drawing from Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata, while also still very audibly paying homage to the Schubert Quintet, heard especially clearly at the close of the Scherzo via its final C being preceded by a dramatic D-flat. As for the Pavel Haas Quartet and Boris Giltburg, think multi-timbred, metrically fleet-footed, heart-filled playing, spanning the dynamic range, which thoroughly realises both the work’s turbulent passion and its highly symphonic feel, with the ability to switch the emotional dial in a heartbeat. Highlights include an absolute blinder of a Scherzo for the conviction of its emotional extremes, and at its most high-octane moments the rhythmic drive and spring of their attack, and the overall sound’s satisfyingly powerful, woody thwack. Then next we jump to 1890 and to the Op. 111 two-viola String Quintet in G major Brahms is said to have initially intended as his last musical work, its language thus nodding to his musical life’s influences – from Beethoven to Schubert, and from waltzing Johann Strauss to Wagner, with further colour by way of the Hungarian motifs he loved to pepper his work with. And again, it’s a rare treat to have such a sensation of unbridled freedom and singing exuberance at the music’s most impassioned climaxes as we have here. Equally affecting are the moments where the music suddenly retreats into whispers either sweetly tender or darkly tragic (head to the first movement for some beauty). There’s also the delicious rhythmic swing of their dance impetus when things get folky. Essentially, don’t hesitate. This is an album for life. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

Brahms was 43 years old when, after a long period of maturation, his First Symphony was published. Felix Weingartner commented on it "taking hold like the claw of a lion" and its urgency marked a new phase in Brahms’ musical development. The Second Symphony is traditionally seen as the pastoral element in the cycle, while the Third, with its melodic beauty, has the courage to end quietly, an act of astonishing serenity. The compelling Passacaglia finale of the Fourth Symphony represents a fitting summation to one of the greatest symphonic cycles in the classical canon. © Naxos

This cycle of Brahms' violin sonatas presents two of the more charismatic artists on the current scene, neither of them particularly known for Brahms. It works quite a bit better than you might expect. In a way pianist Yuja Wang is the star of the show. The Brahms sonatas still carry a trace of the violin sonata's origins with a violin accompanying the keyboard, and it is often the pianist who leads and sets the tone; in many movements Wang establishes a warmth and depth that are a bit out of character with her usual flamboyant style. She then plays nicely off of Kavakos' lyrical lines with her own more urgent style. The deeper logic of these works might be better served by a more neutral approach, but the overall impression is of two distinct personalities in conversation about the music, and that's the chamber music ideal. An added attraction is the presence of the scherzo from the early F-A-E Sonata, a work collaboratively written by Brahms, Schumann, and Albert Dietrich; Brahms' scherzo is a sort of essay in the Beethoven short-short-short long motif, and it allows Wang to really take command. An enjoyable outing that shows Wang, especially, developing talents beyond her comfort zone. Overly closely miked sound detracts from the experience.© TiVo

This is the debut recording with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester by conductor Michael Sanderling, who recently ascended to the orchestra's podium as of 2023 when the album appeared. A set of Brahms symphonies, a crowded marketplace slot in the extreme, might seem a bold move in these circumstances, but nobody can accuse Sanderling of merely retreading others' steps. His Brahms is broad, slow, and detailed, seemingly opening the works into an expanded view. One attraction here, and one that could well bring buyers to the set on its own, is the rare Arnold Schoenberg orchestration of Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, that concludes the album. Although all the melodic material in the work is Brahms', the work is quite characteristic of Schoenberg in its rich, brash orchestration. Schoenberg, in explaining why he made this version of a Brahms chamber work, said, "It is always very badly played, because the better the pianist, the louder he plays, and you hear nothing from the strings. I wanted once to hear everything, and this I achieved." That statement might serve as well as a general characterization of Sanderling's symphony treatments here. All of his tempos are well on the slow side. The Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98, clocks in at well over 46 minutes, perhaps six minutes slower than average for the work. The rest are similarly measured, with exposition repeats adding to the overall heft. Sanderling fills the spaces with orchestral detail. Sample the opening movement of the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, where the slow introduction is atomized into small gestures that do, in his reading, have their parts to play in the music that follows. However, the big tunes, in this symphony's finale and elsewhere, lose some of their impact; the long line is not quite long enough to sustain them. Sanderling is probably at his best in the Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, with its compact thematic blocks in which he finds unsuspected layers. This new Brahms, also benefiting from the spacious acoustic of the new Orchesterhaus Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, certainly commands attention.© James Manheim /TiVo

Brahms’ string concertos are indissolubly linked with the musicians for whom the works were written. He wrote his Violin Concerto for Joseph Joachim, and in it he combined what a contemporary critic termed ‘the great and serious’ with songful lyricism, melodic beauty, and a fiery Hungarian finale. To mend a breach with the violinist, Brahms later composed a concerto with the unusual combination of violin and cello, the latter played at the premiere by Joachim’s colleague Robert Hausmann. Neither instrument predominates in a work of reconciliation that embodies both drama and reflection. © Naxos