Johannes Brahms Arturo Toscanini NBC Symphony Orchestra - Brahms The Four Symphonies NBC Symphony Orchestra Vol IV (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Maestro at his best in splendidly remastered recordings

Robert J. Cruce | Muskogee, OK United States | 09/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those of us who purchased these recordings in the earlier BMG series in the early 1990's must have thought as I did that this was all we could hope for in digital transfers. It was crisp and clear but still somewhat hard and oldish in sound. Now with these wonderful new remasterings BMG has really brought the Maestro into our time for a new generation to discover. So much has has been said about these magnificent performances that I can only repeat that the 2nd and 4th are truly great interpretations. This new set is a cause for celebration. No Brahms lover can afford to overlook this generous reissue."

Clarity of Purpose

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 07/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was skeptical when these new CDs were issued. My thoughts were that the early 1990s Complete Toscanini reissue was probably the best that could be humanly done to restore the very pinched and nasal sounding originals. Since I had already bought half of that set, I wasn't about to spend more of my hard-earned money on a marginally improved RE-reissue.I was wrong. In 1997, RCA totally reorganized and inventoried its massive vaults, which had been in disarray for decades. As a result, many original sources which had been declared "lost" were now "found." This new remastering is strikingly improved sonically over all earlier issues. Utilizing the best technology now available, RCA has also done the right thing by hiring a musician--conductor Ed Houser--rather than whiz-bang technicians to supervise the remastering. The NBC Symphony Orchestra now sounds better than ever before, with greater clarity, smoother strings, fuller winds, and less blotting out during fortissimos. Perhaps no conductor of the 20th Century has been as misunderstood as Arturo Toscanini, as evidenced by the critical backlash with which he was assailed in the years after his death. That criticism was partly in reaction to the equally unbalanced adulation heaped upon him during his lifetime. I remember once mentioning to an acquaintance my admiration for Toscanini's Beethoven and Brahms, and he shot back, "He conducts everything too fast!" In fact, in comparison with other recordings and broadcasts of his era, Toscanini's conducting was not generally faster than average. In relation to TODAY'S phlegmatic tempos, however, Toscanini's pacing is definitely brisk. But what most people are hearing as fast is, in fact, Toscanini's characteristic rhythmic vitality and, occasionally, drive, which brings the faster movements to sparkling life. In contrast, some of Toscanini's tempos are surprisingly broad, as in the horn-call introduction to the finale of Brahms' First Symphony. Likewise, the slow movements are never dragged, and glow with Italianate warmth. Toscanini's approach to Brahms' orchestral works was to focus on structural and harmonic clarity. The flabby, soggy approach typefied by many "traditional" conductors was anathema to everything Toscanini stood for. All four of Brahms' Symphonies on these two CDs feature dazzling clarity of execution, where harmonic strands are transparent. Despite his reputation as a literalist, Toscanini was not afraid to fix what he considered problems with orchestration, and there are discreet touch-ups here, particularly in the finale of the First Symphony, where Toscanini has made alterations to the timpani parts, and also in the Third Symphony. Unfortunately, the Third Symphony presented problems for Toscanini which went beyond orchestration. His several recorded performances of this work run the gamut from rhapsodic to more structural minded, and this performance never quite takes off. He seems to have been more successful performing this work before an audience, and his 1946 live performance (on Music & Arts, coupled with a stunning Second Concerto with his son-in-law, Vladimir Horowitz,) is to be preferred over this version. The other three Symphonies fare well, and remain some of the most compelling accounts of these works ever recorded. RCA does not credit the liner notes, but they are reprints of Mortimer H. Frank's excellent notes originally written for the early 1990s CD release.RCA has so far only released Toscanini's core repertoire with the NBC Symphony--but they are more than welcome additions to the catalogue. The Maestro's recordings with the New York Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra should also be remastered, post-haste. Then, RCA, which has given us magnificent reissues of Kapell and Rubinstein, should get to work and replace their botched Vladimir Horowitz reissue from the 1990s, using this magnificent Toscanini reissue as a template."

Toscanini's Brahms

Hermes Camacho | Boulder, CO | 01/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Toscanini is probably known best for his great interpretations of Beethoven, Verdi and Wagner and is often overlooked when it comes to Brahms. For those who have not heard Toscanini's Brahms, this is the set to purchase.This new set of Toscanini reissues by RCA are by far the best to date. The sound is crisper and clearer then the previous set and this Brahms coupling is no exception. Toscanini's use of the dry acoustics of NBC's Studio 8H shows Toscanini's preference to complete control of every voice in the orchestra. In the Brahms, for example, the inner-voices are very-well heard and the sound overall is very crisp and clean. Among the common misconceptions of the Maestro is his preference for brisk tempi. Though it is true that he preferred a quicker tempo in many works, the brisk quality is attributed to the Maestro's sense of rhythm and drive. One can feel Toscanini's reins on the orchestra. Probably the most startling tempo Toscanini took is in the First Symphony introduction, where he takes a much faster tempo then in many other German recordings. To my taste, it gives it a greater sense of drive and suspense to the opening. The rest of the movement is crisp and superb, the melody and/or moving lines always clear and the timpani almost always never overpowering the orchestra (generally, a very tasteful timpanist). The Second Symphony is also wonderful and one may find it surprising that Toscanini took the finale SLOWER then many other conductors would. The orchestra sings quite beautifully in Brahms' most melodious symphony, particularly the First movement's second theme (many have referred this melody a variation on Brahms' famous lullaby).The third is powerful, though at times the strings tend to be out of sync at times with eachother. The third movement is absolutely beautiful. The fourth movement had a good tempo, but the violins tended to always be slightly ahead of the rest of the orchestra. Oddly enough, the very last pizzicatto at the end of the symphony is not played with the usual Toscanini precision but rather as a broken chord!The fourth is also wonderful, but seems to be a bit straight forward. The Toscanini magic is not quite in this piece, but is still a great interpretation.Toscanini's fidelity to the score is seen throughout this work...that is he followed the printed score to the letter, but would change parts to (as the Maestro believed) bring about a better realization of the composer's intentions (Toscanini's most important goal)-- for example, he wrote extra parts for the timpani to play in the First and Third Symphonies.This is a wonderful recording and is a must for Toscanini fans but also for those looking for a different (sometimes better) and refreshing interpretation of Brahms."

Four Brahms symphonies on two discs!

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It takes Toscanini's driven tempos and BMG's blink-of-an-eye breaks between movements to do it, but they've managed to cram all four Brahms symphonies onto two discs, where the usual is three discs with fillers. There are none here, needless to say. Out of curiosity I compared timings with my Furtwangler set from Music and Arts.

Sym. #1: Furtwangler 47 min. Toscanini 41 min.

Sym. #2: Furtwangler 39 min. Toscanini 37 min.

Sym. #3: Furtwangler 41 min. Toscanini 39 min.

Sym. #4: Furtwangler 40 min. Toscanini 36 min.

Since the Second and Third are often accommodated on a single CD, the difference here is that Toscanini is so much faster in the First and marginally in the Fourth that they can be combined. The First in particular is a race through the opening movement and scherzo; in the former case the results are thrilling, in the latter they are nerve-wracking.

Other reviewers are enthusiastic about Toscanini as a Brahmsian, and I am, too. It's not that he applies any special insight; this music is given the same precise, clear, focused energy that Toscanini brought to almost everything. But Brhams benefits more than, say, Mendelssohn or Schubert from the laser treatment. We are miles away from Bernstein's lengthy, moody meditations on Brahms. I like both approaches. With the almost unbelievable improvement in sonics, this set brings Toscanini back into play as a modern conductor. I would compare these readings with the almost contemporary ones from London with the Philharmonia (Testament), but the latter cost fifty dollars more.

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A must have - recordings of a great conductor with his own o

Craig Matteson | Ann Arbor, MI | 03/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being perfectly frank, I have a real problem with the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms. I cannot choose between them. Whichever one I am hearing is my favorite at that moment. At one point it is the brass chorale, or a particularly beautiful cello passage, or the fabulously limpid clarinet, or exuberance, or pathos, or the horns! These are four masterworks that are supreme treasures of the musical art.

Brahms began working on his first symphony more than a decade before it was premiered. He wanted to be sure he was producing something absolutely right. He got it more than right. The first symphony in C Minor (Op 68) is from 1876 (Brahms was born in 1833), the second in D Major (Op 73) followed quickly in 1877. The third in F Major (Op 90) is from 1883 and the last in E Minor (Op 98) was premiered in 1885. Brahms died in 1897.

Arturo Toscanini lived his life in music and grew from being an opera house cellist to one of the greatest conductors of his era and one of the immortals of the podium. Many people comment on his driving and fast tempi. He may have been a bit brisker than others at times, but one of the reasons his performances seemed so fast is that he made sure you heard everything possible in the score. When so much is happening for your ear and you try to take it all in, well, it seems awfully fast. This is one of the things Arthur Rubenstein had in mind when he admonished young pianists that if they wanted to play fast they had to slow down. Toscanini kept the orchestral tempi up, but made each moment full to capacity of music.

The NBC Symphony Orchestra was created for Toscanini by David Sarnoff in 1937 and was led by the master for seventeen years. The orchestra not only recorded with him, but made public concerts and even toured. And it made money! Sadly, and to Toscanini's distress, the orchestra was disbanded when he retired in 1954. It was renamed the Symphony of the Air and led by Stokowski into the sixties, but its great day had passed.

These recordings of the four symphonies are from 1951 and 1952. And while they have been digitally remastered and sound great for their time, they do not have the full sound of a modern recording. However, you should not care. You should do a little mental translation and enjoy the exquisite beauty of this great music led by one of the great conductors and played by some quite fine musicians. The performances are all quite well done. The album notes do highlight a couple of the changes Toscanini made to Brahms' score to make things sound out better, but notes that a couple of them might be too much, like the addition of tympani in the finale of the third symphony (bars 172-77) and the 32nd note accacciaturas at the end of the symphony that simply make the orchestra sound a bit sloppy.

This is a set to have in your library of recordings of these great works. Really it is a must have."

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