Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
The Complete Symphonies
Symphony No. 1 (1876) [51:42]
Symphony No. 2 (1877) [47:27]
Symphony No. 3 (1883) [40:28]
Haydn Variations (1873) [20:48]
Symphony No. 4 (1885) [46:41]
Tragic Overture (1881) [15:29]
Vienna Philharmoinc Orchestra/Carlo Maria Giulini
rec. live, 1990-92, Vienna.
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802063 [4 CDs: 51:42 + 47:27 + 61:16 + 62:10]
Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005) radiated aristocratic integrity and philosophical
sensitivity. Although there were forays further afield his heartland was among
the pantheon of nineteenth century symphonists. Rather like Celibidache and
quite unlike Karajan his repertoire appeared – at least from the stance of
a listener growing into music during the late 1960s and the entire 1970s –
locked into a small range. Within those confines he was acclaimed for a connoisseur’s
apollonian excellence. This was often underpinned by his working with the
finest orchestras and by elite technical recording teams at EMI, DG and Decca.
His recordings always appeared at premium price.
This Brahms cycle fits the bill to a tee and it is a surprise to hear that
these recordings have not previously been issued as a complete set. These
readings are as expansive as expected. When I say ‘expansive’ it is not code
for merely slow although Giulini is slower than many. With few lapses he carries
this off with evident conviction although there are moments - I noticed a
few of them in the Fourth - where there is a suspicion of overdoing the long
stride. He is never rushed. Not for him the fast-tempo animal excitement of
a Golovanov or the glorious hysteria of a Bernstein. His concern is with the
journey not the climactic waymarkers. It’s neither the departure point nor
the terminus nor even the dramatic stations in between. He grasps the whole
arc of the journey; is in touch with the works’ long-pulsed circadian rhythms.
His preoccupation is architectonic and sensitive to the endogenous. We can
hear this in the finale of the First Symphony at 19:46 where after brooding
sweetly the music seems to pull up the roots with sturdy deliberation. There’s
plenty of heft and impact. A pesante power comes with whiplash vituperation
at 18:02 and those stabbing massed violins just before the final page sing
out with glorious desperation (18:45) before the mordant impacts of the hammer-blow
studded last pages. The Second Symphony more than ever communicates as a gentle
blessing, idyllically shaped. In the finale at 2:40 the brass ring out in
particularly well limned splendour. We hear both the zephyr's breath and then
the lusty country dance in the Second. It’s rather reminiscent of Beethoven's
Pastoral but most satisfyingly delineated and dynamically terraced.
I love the Third and idolise the later Bruno Walter version. Giulini manages
in his epic manner to cede the evolutionary pacing with an intense fire without
the whiplash that walter brings to the work. His leaning towards the lyrical
and the legato is complemented by drawing from the VPO a bullion golden tone.
That last quality is well to the fore in this Brahms cycle. The orchestra
manages some extremely soft playing – so soft it verges on Berlioz. There’s
sweetness too but on the other hand the brass do have bite. It’s not soft
focus by any means. The Tragic Overture has a related turbulent symphonic
mien while Giulini relaxes into the Haydn Variations.
These recordings were made in concert in front of well behaved and healthy
audiences.
The excellent notes are by Richard Osborne.
Giulini’s Brahms symphonies grip the entire epic ambit of these works. He
is in touch with their long-pulsed circadian rhythms without losing their
innate furnace heat. This set deserves to do well and I do urge Brahmsians
to hear it.
Rob Barnett
Giulini grasps the whole arc of these works and is in touch with their long-pulsed
circadian rhythms without losing the furnace heat.