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Brahms: Alto Rhapsody, Choral Music / Wolak, Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir
Brahms’s first connection with choral music came in 1857, and his first appointment in Vienna, in 1863, was to conduct the Singakademie. He premièred A German Requiem in the city and wrote widely for choral forces, taking a variety of poetic source material. Begräbnisgesang (Funeral Hymn) evinces a great feeling of solemnity, whilst Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) is an urgent, volatile work. Nänie was written as a lament for the death of the painter Anselm Feuerbach, and the Alto Rhapsody has remained one of the greatest works for contralto in the repertoire.
BRAHMS: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 / String Quartet No. 3
Brahms: Complete Organ Works / Robert Parkins
Robert Parkins hits the nail absolutely on the head. He paces each one perfectly, the second "Herzlich tut mich verlangen (No. 9) seems almost to float on air while "0 Welt, ich muss dich lassen" (No. 3) avoids any hint of self-indulgence in its heartfelt statement of impending death, Of course this excellent instrument helps. Registrations have to be subtle rather than obtrusive with a strong bias towards unadorned eight-foot tone. Parkins chooses his stops with care and sensitivity—the gentle caressing of a Tremulant throughout "Schmiicke dich, o liebe Seele" (No. 5) transforms a pleasant sound into a ravishing one.
The whole disc (the four early works fare equally well) is a significant addition to the recorded literature of both the organ and Brahms.
-- Gramophone [12/1994]
Brahms: Complete Organ Works / Volostnov
Russian organist Konstantin Volostnov performs Brahms’ complete organ works on the Röver organ of the Moscow Central Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. The instrument was built in 1898 and had suffered years of neglect but, remarkably, was one of the only Röver organs to remain completely original and intact, with a subsequent overhaul undertaken over several years.
Brahms: Complete Songs, Vol. 1 / Prégardien, Eisenlohr
| This first volume of Brahms’ complete songs spans a period of nearly 25 years. A prolific composer of Lieder, Brahms’ adherence to traditional form was accompanied by a modern approach to compositional style. Thematically, most songs explore ideas of love, loneliness and solitude, perfectly exemplified by the Vier Gesänge, Op.43. In a similar way the Sechs Lieder, Op.86 share a common theme of a farewell to life. This volume contains some of his greatest songs, including Die Mainacht, as well as little-known jewels such as Versunken. |
Brahms: Complete Songs, Vol. 3
For Brahms, folk songs were sources of musical inspiration, not subjects for academic study. The songs from Books 6 and 7 of the Deutsche Volkslieder exemplify how Brahms’ distinctive and expressive accompaniments brought unique qualities to these songs, how he intensified certain verses to draw out their power, or allowed the piano its own revealing melodic phrases. In Book 7 the songs are divided between a lead singer and a chorus, adding fresh musical possibilities. In the Volkskinderlieder (‘Children’s Folk Songs’) Brahms’ economy and deftness turn lullabies into works of art.
Brahms: Complete Songs, Vol. 5 / Wunderlin, Carrel, Eisenlohr
Curated by pianist Ulrich Eisenloh, this series of Brahms songs has received widespread acclaim. As with Volume 4, this fifth instalment features soprano Alina Wunderlin and tenor Kieran Carrel, in a selection that contains one of Brahms’ best-loved songs, Minnelied.
Brahms: Complete Songs, Vol. 6
Brahms: Double Concerto; Schumann: Cello Concerto / Kliegel
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), Op. 45
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem / Wit, Warsaw
"The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, a highly capable of the most subtle gradations of tone, is always here the centre of creativity, creating the music’s existential continuum and arising to sombre unexpected splendour at ‘Die Erlöseten des Herrn’ and ‘Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand'...There is some beautiful orchestral playing."
-- BBC Music Magazine [5/2014]
"The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir sings beautifully throughout…Of the soloists, Christiane Libor and Thomas E. Bauer are excellent singers and the orchestra is also first-class...Wit conducts with considerable insight and interpretative command and the recording quality is equally first-rate."
-- International Record Review [5/2014]
"The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir outdo themselves, with some especially fabulous singing that is worth the price of the disc alone. As for the orchestral contributions, Wit uncovers all sorts of wonderful details in the low strings and winds, his expansive vision allowing for a huge emotional expressive range. Attention to dynamics, especially in the singing, is simply tremendous. This is really moving."
-- Brian Wigman, Classical Net [6/2014]
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 10 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 11 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 4 / Matthies, Köhn
Despite the initial notion that these might be proto-symphonies, they are relaxed, genial works, well suited to the name "serenade." Brahms also published them in four-hand piano scores, an arrangement to which they adapt quite nicely. They sound wonderfully fresh here, given invigorating performances by the German piano team of Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Kohn.
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 6 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 8 / Matthies, C. Köhn
Brahms: Four Hand Piano Music Vol 9 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four-hand Piano Music Vol 1 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four-hand Piano Music Vol 15 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four-hand Piano Music Vol 2 / Matthies, Köhn
Brahms: Four-Hand Piano Music, Vol. 16
Brahms: Hungarian Dances & the Hungarian Tradition
Brahms had long been immersed in the folk traditions and spirit of Hungary’s musical repertoire, not least through the famous violinist Ede Reményi, for whom he played as piano accompanist. Brahms employed melodies that he had heard, as well as those based on sheet music, and in this album his Hungarian Dances are presented alongside their source material and variants, as well as some elements that Brahms omitted from his settings. Contextualised in this way, the heroic strength and dynamism, as well as the melancholy of the Dances can be heard as never before.
Brahms: Klavierstucke Opp. 117 118
BRAHMS: Motets
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Schumann: Introduction and Al
Brahms: Piano Pieces, Rhapsodies, Fantasies / Idil Biret
Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 3 / Barakhovsky, Zemtsov, Schmidt, Nebolsin
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The players have the feel of a group who have become welded together by years of mutual performances, the balance between them, as melodies are woven, being so perfectly weighted. The tempos also have that natural feel with scherzos that are never rushed, while the string intonation is impeccable.
– David Denton's Review Corner (November 2016)
