Search - Johannes Brahms, Christian Kohn, Silke-Thora Matthies :: Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Triumphlied

Johannes Brahms, Christian Kohn, Silke-Thora Matthies
Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Triumphlied
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (7) - Disc #1
1. Sym No.1 in c, Op.68: Un Poco Sostenuto-Allegro
2. Sym No.1 in c, Op.68: Andante Sostenuto
3. Sym No.1 in c, Op.68: Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
4. Sym No.1 in c, Op.68: Adagio-Allegro Non Troppo Ma Con Brio
5. Triumphlied, Op.55: Lebhaft Und Feierlich
6. Triumphlied, Op.55: Massig Belebt
7. Triumphlied, Op.55: Lebhaft

CD Details

All Artists: Johannes Brahms, Christian Kohn, Silke-Thora Matthies
Title: Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Triumphlied
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Naxos
Original Release Date: 1/1/2000
Re-Release Date: 4/11/2000
Genre: Classical
Styles: Opera & Classical Vocal, Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 636943411926

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Before the phonograph, arrangements for piano with four hands were the only way most people had of hearing orchestral music. Brahms made his own versions of his symphonies, giving them at least some potential academic validity as listening experiences. The imaginative and resourceful playing of Matthies and Köhn takes the music much further. They thoroughly understand the symphonic structure and the emotional weight of the music, and they play with such tonal and dynamic variety that they turn this piano arrangement into a gripping experience. The Triumphlied, a large-scale but obscure choral work, sounds less bombastic in this arrangement than in its original form, but it is still not one of Brahms's masterpieces and probably won't invite repeated hearings. But for those interested in a new perspective on familiar Brahms, superbly performed, this disc offers a fascinating experience. --Leslie Gerber

CD Reviews

A very nice suprise of lovers of Brahms' Symphony 1

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 04/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos has just issued the latest entry in their series of Brahms' (8.55419), this one offering us the mighty and the meretricious. I had not known that Brahms had reduced his "Symphony No. 1" to a piano piece for four hands. While it certainly will never replace that remarkable work, it can stand on its own as an independent work of art and a welcome substitute for the fully orchestrated version, which I have heard once too often in my lifetime. The "Triumphlied" that fills out the program is a 22-minute piece of jingoism celebrating Brahms' beloved Bismarck and his conquest over the French back in 1870. I believe that the composer was sincere but that he did not find much deep musical inspiration in the events that prompted this work. I am sure it sounds even more blatantly propagandistic in its original version for baritone, chorus and orchestra. I don't dislike it, mind you; but anything in praise of slaughter always leaves a sour taste for me. Pianists Silke-Thora Matthies and Christian Kohn make a good case for both works. And the ultimate decision is, of course, yours to make."