The Age Green Guide, Melbourne
SDG 704 - BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 (30 Oct 2009)
BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 3
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique,
cond John Eliot Gardiner, SDG
For those who believe Brahms to be turgid
romanticism, listen to John Eliot Gardiner's clean, precise and lyrical
performance of the Symphony No. 3. As Gardiner himself says in the notes, this
work is "a symphony of protest and acquiescence". He certainly brings out these
qualities in a swift and brilliant performance. As with the other CDs in this
cycle, Gardiner teams the symphony with shorter choral pieces that bear musical
or historic relevance. The most fascinating is the rarely heard mixed-chorus and
orchestra piece Nanie, Op.82. But there are other treats, not least the 4th
symphony and Ein Deutsches Requiem.
Key track 4. Einfoermig ist der Liebe
Gram, Op.113. Enchanting and amusing six-part canon for female chorus set to
Schubert's organ-grinder song from Die Winterreise.
Michael Shmith
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