Johannes Brahms : Symphony n°1 - Tragic Overture - Academic Festival Overture

Album review

Recorded on January 18 and 19, 2004, at Watford Colosseum with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, these performances of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 and Tragic and Academic Festival Overtures are Marin Alsop's first Brahms recording. For that matter, these are also Alsop's first recordings of standard repertoire works. Heretofore, Alsop has conducted contemporary music including discs of Rouse, Glass, and Daugherty, plus the complete orchestral music of Samuel Barber. But, as an English critic might say, this disc represents her first foray into the music of the nineteenth century masters. So how is it? It's nice, light, airy, and lyrical. The tread of fate in the tympani in the opening Un poco sostenuto is nice. The deeply emotional Andante sostenuto is light. The exciting and exhilarating Un poco allegretto e grazioso is airy. The great-hearted theme of the closing Allegro non troppo is lyrical. All that's fine as far as it goes. But the energy that courses through the opening Allegro and the Allegretto's Trio, the soulful strength that soars in the Andante, the overwhelming climaxes of the opening and closing movements are not nice, light, airy, and lyrical. They are massive, monumental, and imagined on a far, far grander scale. Likewise, the powerful pessimism of the Tragic Overture and the brilliant optimism of the Academic Festival Overture are not nice, light, airy, and lyrical, they are the Janus-faces of Brahms' music. While the London Philharmonic plays superbly and Alsop conducts satisfactorily, these performances are merely fine as far as they go, but they don't go nearly far enough. For great performances in terrific sound, try Claudio Abbado's with the Berlin Philharmonic. For the greatest performance of the Symphony No. 1 ever recorded in passable sound, try Wilhelm Furtwängler's with the NDR Hamburg.
© TiVo

Details of original recording : 72:42 - DDD - Enregistré au Watford Colosseum à Watford (UK) en janvier 2004 - Notes en anglais & allemand