Independent on Sunday

SDG702 - Brahms Symphony 1 (9 Nov 2008)

Though Brahms's first symphony concludes with a life-affirming Beethovian theme, the first release of John Eliot's cycle of recordings begins with the sombre brass and woodwind of the "Begräbnisgesang".  Sandwiched between this and the radiant "Schicksalslied " Mendelssohn's "Mitten wir im leben sind" sounds thin.  The symphony itself is dynamic, astringent: admirably transparent in its textures and super-sweet in Peter Hanson's violin solo at the close of the "Andante sostenuto". AP