Search - Johannes Brahms, Yevgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra :: Brahms: The Four Symphonies

The best Brahms from Mravinsky

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Brahms cycle from the great Soviet conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky consists of stereo-FM broadcasts from the Seventies, along with a single commerical recording, from Melodiiua in 1949, of the First Sym. The readings are intense, individual, and show Mravinsky's masterly touch in phrasing. The sonics are iffy--oddly, the mono Melodiya has the most presence--but it's a pleasure to hear remasterings that filter out the shrillness that so often afflicts Mravinsky's recordings. He's a surprisingly gentle Brahmsian, more in the style of Bruno Walter than either Toscanini or Szell, and truth to tell, Brahms wasn't one of Mravinsky's great specialties. Even so, it's a joy to hear anything from the Mravinsky archive; he was one of the indisputable maestros in the grand tradition."