Zubin Mehta has long been a constant in Munich's musical life. Mehta has enjoyed an artistic relationship and deep friendship with the Munich Philharmonic in particular for decades. Since he conducted his first concert with the orchestra in 1987, he has been a regular guest and was appointed the orchestra's first and so far only "conductor emeritus" in 2004. Twenty years later, the orchestra celebrated this milestone anniversary with a Brahms cycle, including all four symphonies.

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RHAPSODY SPIRITUALS

Brahms: The Symphonies, Haydn Variations & 8 Hungarian Dance

Brahms : Symphony No.1 & Tragic Overture. Kurt Masur & New York Philharmonic. Kurt Masur took over the New York Philharmonic and this is one of the slower interpretations of this symphony.

The Auryns approach the Quartets, which are some of the most complex Brahms ever wrote, with an entirely open mind. The four musicians playing most expressively, without ever drifting off into that thick, vibrato-dripping sound which serves many a far more famous quartet formation as a surrogate for true passion. The Auryn Quartet's Brahms sounds lean and yet sensual; the tempi are prompt and flexible. A highly successful recording which was also recorded in a first-class way (as we have become used to from the ambitious Tacet Label)"

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Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

For the new recording of Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Chorwerk Ruhr decided to use the version with four-hand piano accompaniment created by the composer himself. A comparatively small ensemble of singers ensures perfect comprehensibility of the text. This rarely played version opens up new perspectives on the seemingly familiar work. CHORWERK RUHR is one of the most important chamber choirs in Germany. Founded in 1999 by the Kultur Ruhr GmbH, the Kommunalverband Ruhrgebiet, the City of Essen and the State Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Urban Development, Culture and Sport, the vocal ensemble has become a solid pillar of vocal art in German-speaking countries. The extraordinary goal of the choir is to meet the special requirements of solo ensembles as well as to achieve a perfect fusion of the ensemble in the choir sound.

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Neither Georgian, a pupil of Rostropovich, nor Gililov had come my way before but I hope such persuasive musicians will soon do so again. Their sympathy for Brahms struck me as of the unforced, intuitively perceptive kind. The two cello sonatas are keenly contrasted: (Op.99) Adagio is played with a totally committed intensity by both and the songful finale has an endearing spring-like freshness (Gramophone).

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Both sonatas recorded here are the work of the young Brahms, who was still a teenager when he wrote Op.2. They are paired with, and perfectly complement the much later rhapsodies. These are magisterial accounts from Garrick Ohlsson, a pianist noted for his mastery of the Romantics.