Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; "Haydn" Variations; Alto Rhapsody; Academic and Tragic Overtures.(Sound Recording Review)

Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; "Haydn" Variations; Alto Rhapsody; Academic and Tragic Overtures. Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI 7243 5 62760 2 8 (3-disc set).

Two prefacing comments: (1) I am not the biggest fan of the Brahms symphonies, my appreciation limited to the final movement of the First Symphony, much of the Second Symphony, little but parts of the opening and third movements of the Third Symphony, and most of the Fourth Symphony. (2) I AM the biggest fan of Otto Klemperer, whose command of the basic Germanic repertoire--Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mozart, Mahler, Mendelssohn, and Wagner--I find is largely unequalled. Klemperer is with Sir Adrian Boult the only conductor who can make the parts of the Brahms symphonies I enjoy come alive for me. That said, I welcome with open arms this new, three-disc set of remastered Klemperer Brahms from EMI in their splendid "Great Recordings of the Century" line.

These works by Brahms were among the first things Klemperer recorded when he took over the Philharmonia Orchestra from Karajan in the late fifties. They showed him to be a towering figure on the podium, who enjoyed the respect of music lovers for the next two decades as he

had for a half century before. The three discs in the set include not only the four symphonies but the Haydn Variations, the Alto Rhapsody (with Christa Ludwig), and the Academic and Tragic Overtures.

Klemperer's way with the First Symphony is as granitelike as always, yet the music flows almost unconsciously from his direction. The famous march tune in the Finale is, of course, as prominent as ever and crowns for the work the heroic tones that preceded it; but even the prior three movements show the power and conviction of both Brahms and Klemperer. The conductor clarifies points a listener might not know existed by presenting the music as directly yet as profoundly as possible. The conductor was criticized early in his career for being too literal with his interpretations, but by 1957 the world had caught up with him and recognized his genius. Frankly, though, I hadn't heard these recordings since their old LP days, and was expecting the worst. It didn't happen. I'm still not convinced the Brahms symphonies represent the greatest music in the world, yet I enjoyed every minute of them.

The Second Symphony is often referred to as Brahms's "Pastoral" symphony because of its casual and bucolic manner, and certainly Klemperer brings out these qualities. His is a more angular vision of the piece, however, than Boult's more romanticized and curvaceous rendering. Still, Klemperer's way with the Second is lovely and serene, building to a nice climax in the energetic final movement, which tends to be perhaps a bit too rowdy for the nature of the preceding movements but blame that on Brahms, not Klemperer.