Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
List Price:
Our Price: $4.53
You Save: $3.46 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.25 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Composer: Johannes BrahmsConductor: Bruno Walter
Orchestra: Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Published: 1966
CD Release Date: 1995-10-31
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op. 73: I. Allegro non troppo
- Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op. 73: II. Adagio non troppo
- Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op. 73: III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi Andantino) Presto ma non assai
- Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op. 73: IV. Allegro con spirito
- Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: I. Allegro con brio
- Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: II. Andante
- Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: III. Poco Allegretto
- Symphony No. 3 In F Major, Op. 90: IV. Allegro
Music reviews of Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Music Review: Classic Brahms Second; Fine Brahms Third.
Rating: 4 Stars
Virtually all reviewers have given this set very high praise, and most of it is certainly deserved. After re-listening to Walter's Brahms Second and Third, I made a comparison with another CD offering the same works. My resulting impressions were quite instructive and, frankly, also a bit surprising. Before commenting on this, however, I will add, like some of you, that I have listened to quite a few performances of these symphonies (overwhelmingly on long playing records). My preferred choices for the Second Symphony include both this Columbia/Walter reading AND his earlier mono New York Philharmonic account, Klemperer/Philharmonia, Kertesz/Vienna Philharmonic(nla), Weingartner/London Philharmonic(mono) and Jochum with the Berlin Philharmonic(mono). For the Brahms Third, I would again single out Jochum, Weingartner, Klemperer and add George Szell's Cleveland performance, the subject of my upcoming discussion.
Here are my comments regarding the comparison between the Walter and Szell sets of Brahms' Second and Third Symphonies (both on Sony): In the first movement of the Second, Szell does not rush the pace any more than Walter, but he is not Walter when it comes to revealing the poetry in that movement. Where Walter sounds flowing in a natural way, Szell, by comparison, sounds as if he is working to give the impression of a flow. Things sound too perfectly staged. In the second movement, Szell moves along a little faster than Walter and in doing so cools the sense of ardor that Walter brings to the music. Nor is Szell able to match Walter in the lilting portions of the third movement, though his virtuostic tendencies do show through in the more rousing passages. In the last movement, the Clevelanders are at their dynamic best, ending with a blazing conclusion. When all is said/heard and done, however, it is Walter's endearing approach that wins. And that's not to imply that he is without adequate dynamic emphasis, notwithstanding the customary brilliance of the Szell/Cleveland combo.
My surprise came in the Brahms Third, where I felt as if Walter and Szell had, to some extent, reversed personalities. I had never noticed this before. Maybe it was because I was hearing both takes in such close proximity. Another factor might have been the enhanced clarity wrought by Sony's 20 bit technology that was given to the Walter disc. In the first movement, I got the impression that Walter was working somewhat deliberately, at times, in a manner reminiscent of Szell. Occasionally, emphasis on detail seemed a bit overdone. In the second and third movements, I didn't quite get the usual Walter sense of lovingly caressing the music. I found particularly annoying the prominence of tympani strokes against the background of the flowing melody of the third movement.(This sounds like the fault of the audio engineers.) Finally, I felt Walter moved a little too briskly in some passages of the last movement. As for Szell, I found his journey to be more leisurely and more musically sensitive than Walter's. In both the second and third movements, he was more adept at letting the music breathe. Only in the beginning of the last movement did I wish for a little more (liveliness). However, as the movement proceeded, so did Szell in an exemplary way. His close was as satisfying as Walter's. In conclusion, I preferred Szell's Third to Walter's. Nonetheless, neither, I feel, can match the poetic expressiveness and melodic bloom Eugen Jochum brings to his loving mono performance with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG "Originals"). I may never hear a more wonderfully characterized Brahms Third than this. Incidentally, though excellent, his later London Philharmonic stereo Third on EMI does not quite have the same charm; moreover, he observes the exposition repeat in the first movement which, for me, contributes to a less enjoyable listening experience.
Description of Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained them to do the right things, and they responded with first-class accounts of these symphonies. While there are instances of less than crack ensemble, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter's approach to the music is kindly, caring, and wonderfully whole--sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should give this disc a listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but in Sony's new 20-bit remastering the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. --Ted Libbey
The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained to do the right things, and it responded with first-class accounts of these symphonies. While there are instances of less-than-stellar ensemble work, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter's approach to the music is kindly, caring, wonderfully whole--sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned, and above all gemtlich. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings, made between 1959 and 1961, are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but have benefitted immensely from Sony's state-of-the-art remastering. Considering the vintage, the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. --Ted Libbey
Classical CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Classical CDs
Winterscapesby London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops:
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebeeby Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops:
Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs CdrRelease date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
![Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] Image](/images/Jose-Carreras-Jubileum-Concert-VHS-1584481471-X.jpg){kind=small}
Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops:
![Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] Image](/images/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-Nureyev-Park-Royal-Ballet-VHS-156127092X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.89
Price in other shops:
![Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] Image](/images/Lonely-Town-Lonley-Street-Sergeant-Early-Dream-VHS-1561270857-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Winter Music: Composing the Northby John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.90
Price in other shops:
![Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Puccini-La-Fanciulla-del-West-Santi-Domingo-Neblett-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720382-X.jpg){kind=small}
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops:
![Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Verdi-Falstaff-Giulini-Bruson-Ricciarelli-Nucci-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720358-X.jpg){kind=small}
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Bruno Walter Conducts MozartRelease date: 2011-09-06; Music CD
Best price: $12.94
Price in other shops:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5Release date: 2003-09-30; Music CD
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 "Eroica" & 8Release date: 1995-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"Release date: 1995-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $5.82
Price in other shops:
Mahler: Symphony No. 1- Titan / Symphony No. 10 (Adagio)MAHLER,G.; Release date: 1998-11-24; Music CD
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
Mahler: Symphonies No. 1 & No. 2; Lieder eines fahrenden GesellenRelease date: 1995-01-24; Music CD
Best price: $13.81
Price in other shops:
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6- PastoraleRelease date: 1995-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $4.47
Price in other shops:
Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45/ Alt-Rhapsodie, Op. 53Release date: 1995-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $4.45
Price in other shops:
Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Tragic Overture; SchicksalsliedRelease date: 1995-10-31; Music CD
Best price: $12.99
Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Haydn Variations; Academic Festival OvertureRelease date: 1995-10-31; Music CD
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops: