Die Brahms CDs mit Günter Wand gefallen mir sehr gut. Ich höre Brahms sehr gerne. und höre mir immer mal wieder eine der Sinfonien an, nach meiner Stimmungslage.
Got this version a couple of weeks back. I can safely say, I like it very much. There is presence and clarity to Wand which I am only beginning to rediscover. Heard him 12 years ago in London in Bruckner's 8th, which I then got on CD from a friend by chance recently. By the way, if you don't have that version yet, get it. That lead me to order the other Bruckner symphonies with Wand and the Berliner. They are all fantastic and rival Jochum's legendary. Jochum is probably still beter in the 9th. This lead me to get the Schubert 8&9 with Wand, and since they also really appealed to me (more warmth/passion than Karajan without loosing the fitting 'Germanic' style/structure)I decided also to get Brahm's symphonies with Wand.
Had already Furtvängler's and Jochum's on CD and Boult's on LP. I live far away from my LP's at the moment (sadly so) so Boult's is faint in my memory although I recall that I really liked it (a shame EMI haven't published them on CDs...even if the LP sounds better). Furtwängler is magic, but the sound quality is unfortunately poor. A shame that they don't sound as good as say the EMI La Bohème and Tosca from the same years.
With Wand the structure is clearer without loosing the passion. The orchestra plays very well, and it is hard not to get carried with them and Wand. Of course, the emotions music trigger are always impossible to describe, but in short I highly recommend Wand...so much so, that I have ordered the holy grail (Beethoven's symphonies) with him as well. For me, here Furtwängler rules, so it will be interesting to see how Wand compares.
Have owned several versions, had strong bias toward Karajan 1964. Have a couple GREAT recordings of individual symphonies (i.e. the 4th Reiner/ Royal Phil., the 1st Wand/Chicago Symphony)
Here's my take:
Forget Kemplerer. After so many modern recordings, Klemperer's just don't sound good. I have them and can't listen to them. I finally deleted them from my library.
Karajan 1964. Sure; and they were the greatest of the time. I never did care for the 4th in this set. Still think the 2nd is one of the greatest. Forget the later Karajan versions.
Wand - warm, musical, beautiful, extremely well played. If you want one set that will last, I think this is the one.
5つ星のうち3.0Sorry Wand fans... Brahms is better served elsewhere
2011年1月30日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
Amazonで購入
I gave Wand's Brahms cycle a few shots over time and it fails to make much of an impression. The opening of the first symphony jumps out at you with a fast tempo and it's genuinely exciting but also it lacks the gravity of many other conductors. However, Wand does not do much to sustain the initial excitement. The performance becomes monotonous, with little imagination or input from the conductor. The great finale, with all it's tempo changes and contrasting sections is played in one forward moving amble. I was not moved and this music is magnificent, the listener should be completely involved. Wand continues on in the same sense with the rest of the symphonies and everytime I expect my blood to surge in my veins or get goosebumps, Wand and his orchestra fail. The emotions are typically glossed over. These are romantic symphonies which Wand plays too literally.
It's unfortunate because Wand can be inspired at his best or at least he can be dependably forthright to get the job done. I enjoyed his late Mozart symphonies, vibrant and exciting. His Beethoven 9th on RCA I ranked as one of the finest of the digital era with some charged playing and an intense choral finale. Wand also made an outstanding Bruckner 8th, live in Lubeck cathedral. Brahms should be right up his alley and yet I didn't feel that the conductor was very involved, just moving along. The orchestra plays well but quite a distance away from the wonders of Berlin or Vienna.
There is a multitude of better performances of these awesome symphonies. Furtwangler, Karajan, Klemperer or Abbado in the 1st... Karajan's digital version in the 2nd... Solti or Furtwangler in the 3rd... Carlos Kleiber or Furtwangler in the 4th symphony. Even Simon Rattle put out a very good cycle recently on EMI. All are preferable to Wand. If you're coming to this music for the first time, Wand will do but you'll ask yourself that something must be missing and you'll be right about that.