John Eliot Gardiner, the conductor more highly decorated by the recording industry than any other, returns for his second installment of his complete cycle of the Brahms symphonies. This disc includes the Second Symphony along with the lush Alto Rhapsody and three Schubert songs (two of which were arranged by Brahms). Gardiner's argument to juxtapose vocal and symphonic works is sound; Brahms' true compositional love was for the voice, and his symphonies reflect this in their frequent vocal, choral qualities. Like other ...
Read More
John Eliot Gardiner, the conductor more highly decorated by the recording industry than any other, returns for his second installment of his complete cycle of the Brahms symphonies. This disc includes the Second Symphony along with the lush Alto Rhapsody and three Schubert songs (two of which were arranged by Brahms). Gardiner's argument to juxtapose vocal and symphonic works is sound; Brahms' true compositional love was for the voice, and his symphonies reflect this in their frequent vocal, choral qualities. Like other recordings of Gardiner, an abundance of research preceded these Brahms performances. Detailed investigation into the types of instruments used, their arrangement on-stage, and performance practices of which Brahms approved results in a recording perhaps as close to an original as is currently available. All of this scholarship does not, in any way, mean a purely academic, sterile performance. Listeners will be hard pressed to find a more impassioned Second Symphony, and anyone who...
Read Less
Add this copy of Symphony No. 2 / Alto Rhapsody to cart. $30.05, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by SDG.
Add this copy of Brahms-Symphony No. 2 to cart. $32.90, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2009 by SOLI DEO GLORIA.