Search - Brahms, Vpo, Abbado :: Brahms: 21 Ungarische Tanze [21 Hungarian Dances / 21 Danses Hongroises]

You cannot lose with this CD

Joshua Kaufman | Cincinnati, OH | 01/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms's Hungarian Dances, as a set, are one of the four main pieces of Brahms I really enjoy. They are full of great melodies, varying rhythms, and in general just good plain fun. Abbado conducts them with great spirit and really gets into the depths of the music.

Brahms in fact originally wrote them for two pianos, but they truly shine in orchestra form. Some of them were arranged by Brahms himself, while others were done by his associates, and the last five by none other than Antonin Dvorak. Suffice it to say, that they still hold vgery well as a set, because the orchestrations tend to be on the standard side. It's a small complaint though.

While everyone knows #5, my personal favorite is #6, which here is given a very brisk perforamnce (it's often too slow), and other favorites are #1, #2, #9, and #19. The sound quality is excellent, without the problems that some early digital recording had. While it's listed here as "import" it shouldn't be too hard to find used, and it's certainly worth seeking out."