Nanie

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This last installment in Claudio Abbado's fine Brahms cycle has the same virtues as the previous recordings: excellent playing, fine recording, and an intensely lyrical response to the music that never precludes a healthy dose of energy where required. The high point of the cycle is the Third Symphony, followed by the Second. If you have those and wish to collect the others, they are not far behind in quality and you can buy this disc (and the one with the First Symphony) with complete confidence. The couplings are also very well done. --David Hurwitz

Brahms: Symphonie No.4/Haydn Variationen/Nanie, Music, Johannes Brahms, Claudio Abbado, Michael Steinberg, Berliner Philharmoniker, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral, Romantic Symphony, Romantic Variations for Orchestra, Secular Choral Music with Orchestra, Symphonic

Brahms: Symphonie No. 4; Haydn-Variationen; Nänie
Average customer rating:

Karajan's orchestra but hardly Karajan's Brahms

Great Way To Cap Off A Terrific Cycle!

the best recording of symphony no.4

A fine Brahms 4 that is not affected by minor demerits

The slickest Brahms Fourth you can get.

Brahms: Symphonie No. 4; Haydn-Variationen; Nänie

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 - Carlos Kleiber / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

ASIN: B000001GFV
Release Date: 1992-05-12

Tracks:

Symphonie No. 4: Variations On A Theme By Joseph Haydn, Op 56a
Symphonie No. 4: Ne, Op 82 - Andante
Symphonie No. 4: Symphony 4 In E Minor - Allegro non troppo
Symphonie No. 4: Symphony 4 In E Minor - Andante moderato
Symphonie No. 4: Symphony 4 In E Minor - Allegro giocoso
Symphonie No. 4: Symphony 4 In E Minor - Allegro energico e passionato - Piu Allegro

Amazon.com

This last installment in Claudio Abbado's fine Brahms cycle has the same virtues as the previous recordings: excellent playing, fine recording, and an intensely lyrical response to the music that never precludes a healthy dose of energy where required. The high point of the cycle is the Third Symphony, followed by the Second. If you have those and wish to collect the others, they are not far behind in quality and you can buy this disc (and the one with the First Symphony) with complete confidence. The couplings are also very well done. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Karajan's orchestra but hardly Karajan's Brahms.......2006-10-19

Herbert von Karajan recorded the Brahms symphonies multiple times, and each outing was a lesson in power, architecture, and depth of feeling. With this legacy to contend with, no wonder Abbado decided to try something different. His Brahms is smooth where Karajan's was jagged, songful where his was dramatic. Only the incredible virtuosity of the Berliners remains, and I must say it hasn't suffered one bit. In many ways this Fourth Sym. makes Brahms's masterpiece sound pleasant and light.

Apparently quite a few reviewers here prefer their Brahms to go down this easy. I don't want the spoonful of sugar and wonder, frankly, why Abbado provides it. After a lyrical, soft-grained first movement, the second has been bleached of all struggle and passion. We are a very far remove from the rugged Klemperer reading or Bernstein's intensely personal drama. The Scherzo goes better--it's the high point of the performance--because Abbado supplies energy without the usual heavy tread this movement so often receives. It's fleet and good-humored, one of the best i've come across.

Ultimately, however, the Fourth rises or falls on the great Passacalgia that ends the symphony. This was the only movement that Karajan took too smoothly, refusing to find the proper weight and nobility. Abbado follows his lead, giving us a cheery run-through in place of the titanic muscle-flexing of Furtwangler or the piercing intensity of Carlos Kleiber in his famous recording with the Vienna Phil. (also on DG). I disagree with the reviewer who calls this performance sleek and slick. Abbado has feelings for the symphony, but they aren't deep nes. Likewise, the fillers--the slight choral work Nanie and the ubiquitous Haydn Variations, are too mild to be memorable.

Great Way To Cap Off A Terrific Cycle! .......2006-03-29

I have to say that this Brahms symphonic cycle is the best thing Abbado has done in Berlin and this Brahms 4th is top of the line in nearly every respect. In all seriousness, since Karajan and Carlos Kleiber there haven't been too many great performances of Brahms, nice of Abbado to fill the gap.

I give this 4 stars because I think that Carlos Kleiber's famous version is still better than Abbado, even though Abbado gets much more beautiful playing from the BPO, more beautiful than Kleiber received from the Vienna Philharmonic. You should own both to compare and contrast.

The ultimate Brahms 4th, in my opinion and I think this can be backed up by the opinions of many, is Furtwangler's cataclysmic performance during World War II. You can find that baby in a Brahms set on the Music and Arts label. The final Passacaglia under Furtwangler is soul wrenching, something that Abbado, Karajan or even Kleiber simply can't deliver. But you do need a digital, modern recording and Abbado easily fills that spot, the sound Deutsche Grammophon gives him is better than the sound they gave Carlos Kleiber just a few years prior to Abbado's recording.

The fill-ups are great too, especially the rarely heard choral piece Nanie. So grab this CD, just don't forget about Furtwangler if you want to here transcendental Brahms.

the best recording of symphony no.4.......2004-10-21

this is the finnest version of this great work i have ever heard.and i have heard them all.abbado is matchless in his brahms interpretations.

A fine Brahms 4 that is not affected by minor demerits.......2002-09-08

Claudio Abbado made this recording of Brahms's symphonic swansong some time after he took up the baton in Berlin for a decade-long tenure with the orchestra. It is just about as strong as his other volumes in his cycle of Brahms symphonies despite having some noteworthy demerits that do not detract entirely from the listening experience. As always, Abbado elicits peerless playing from his Berlin ensemble, embellishing the Karajanesque sound of the orchestra to give a new yet traditional character to the playing and sound. And the DG recording, though not always consistent, is warm and atmoepheric, despite some slight clouding.

This fine CD has two fill-ups in the shape of the Haydn Variations and the raerly-heard Nanie. Both works hve parallels in the symphony, with the Variations hinting of the massive passacaglia finale to come and Nanie hinting of the mood of the symphony in both words and music. Although I feel that the Haydn Variations would make a more sensible fill-up for the Third Symphony (because of its more obvious parallels with that work), I find that both fill-ups are played and sung exceptionally well. Nanie shows the Berlin Radio Choir getting into the spirit of the work with their crisp diction and sense of feeling for the text of Schiller (who also penned the text of the Ode to Joy that Beethoven set in his Ninth Symphony.)

Now to the symphony. Abbado starts the first movement in good form, building upon the quiet opening to powerful effect until the power becomes the driving force of the movement. But even amidst the density of the argument, he still allows the lyricism of the quieter sections to shine through. In the second movement, the orchestra is on top form, and the wind solos are particularly telling, especially the warm and expansive horn soloise. The Scherzo, despite being played at a good tempo, may sound a little bit heavy to some ears, and may lack some rythmic spring, despite having evergy. This is where I find recording problems coming into play, because of the clarity of the sound, when the timpani gets drowned out and the detail of the textures is lost. But all is not lost for long, because Abbado moulds the sprawling finale into a movement as powerful as the first movement. The influences of Bach's passacaglias (and to some extent the Beethoven Eroica symphony) are keenly felt here, and despite the movement being played a tad slower than most performances, the pulse and driving force are well and stably maintained. The closing pages are forcefully wrought, and are enough to crown this entire performance (and for that matter this Abbado cycle of Brahms symphonies.)

In short, I find this a generally excellent performance of Brahms's symphonic swansong. Although in some places I find that Carlos Kleiber owns the work, I think that Abbado's competing DG performance is just as fine as that venerable recording. Plus, despite the clouding of the Festspielhaus, rather than the Philharmonie or the Jesus-Christus Kirche, DG has given us a generally consistent sound not only in the symphony but also in the well-chosen fill-ups. The booklet contains the text for Nanie in English and German, and an essay by Michael Steinberg that might be considered weaker than the rest of his essays for Brahms symphony CDs.

The slickest Brahms Fourth you can get........2001-12-12

Abbado's reading is sleek and slick. The tempi are about perfect, though the third movement is a little slow. The fourth movement is amazingly strong, though the strings overpower everything else. One would wish for more brass. The biggest flaw of this recording is not Abbado's or the BPO, but the sound engineers. It suffers from severe digitis. The Digital recording turns what should be crackling timpani into a thudding muddle. You'd think they weren't pitched instruments. Any bass instruments tend to get melded into an amorphous bass sound. Hopefully remastering can fix this. In spite of that, the reading is thrilling in nearly every aspect, and the playing of the BPO has rarely been finer. This is a clean performance.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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