Johannes Brahms: Symphonies No. 3 in F major Op. 90 & No. 4. in E minor Op. 98 -
The Cleveland Orchestra; George Szell, conductor
Classical | 2 CD | EAC Rip | 543 MB | FLAC+LOG+M3U+Cue | Full scans | 3 RS links
Publisher: Sony Classical
This is a strong performance (No. 4), especially of the first movement where Brahims's allegro non troppo certainly has its last two words observed. I thought Szell would have to speed up at some point; but no, he does the trick by increasing the tension in appropriate places, especially near the end, with a truly masterly result.
The slow movement is beautifully played but suffers most of all the movements from the fault all of us have remarked so often in Cleveland recordings—that Szell does not make his strings play really softly. Just occasionally he does, but in general he seems happy to let them produce a wonderful sound at too high a level. That glorious tune that first comes on the 'cellos, for instance (bar 41), does indeed sound glorious—but it isn't remotely p dolce sempre ; and the violas at bar 64, marked p dolce, play at something more like a full forte. This is the sadder, since the music is obviously played with very great feeling and beauty. The scherzo, like the first movement, is strong but is just too slow to convey Brahms's giocoso, so that it doesn't provide the light relief the composer surely intended. The finale is very powerful indeed and hangs marvellously well together, even the famous flute solo passage being kept moving along. The playing itself, of the whole symphony, is of the highest class I need hardly add. Gramophone, March 1968
Szell's performances are very satisfying indeed. His Brahms is robust in strong movements, yet expressive in quiet ones, even if not so deeply embtional as we hear from some conductors. He practically never allows any mannerisms of interpretation, 'points' that can become so tiresome with repeated playing of a record, yet interpretations are never without character. (There are a very few exceptions but they are so slight as to cause little worry.)
The recording is equally satisfactory, with a very clear texture of sound and an excellently strong bass. One used to complain of a lack of soft string playing in Cleveland recordings but this did not particularly strike me now, even though I had just been listening to the same music from the VP0 under Kertesz on Decca (reviewed on p. 678). It's a very different kind of softness from the Decca sound, more open and less hushed; but one special advantage is that you can really hear the notes in soft pizzicato passages, often melodic in Brahms, without having to play the record at a very high level. As to the playing, it is very fine; and it is good to be reminded again of this orchestra's soaring violins, its distinguished solo playing, its corporate discipline and rhythm. Very thrilling Brahms. T. H. Gramophone 1973
Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008
EAC extraction logfile from 21. September 2009, 9:17
Cleveland Orchestra · Georg Szell / Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major · Variations on a theme by Haydn
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EAC extraction logfile from 21. September 2009, 9:17
Cleveland Orchestra · Georg Szell / Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major · Variations on a theme by Haydn
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Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
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TOC of the extracted CD
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Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008
EAC extraction logfile from 21. September 2009, 12:20
Johannes Brahms / Symphony No.4 Academic Festival Overture, Tragic Overture
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End of status report
EAC extraction logfile from 21. September 2009, 12:20
Johannes Brahms / Symphony No.4 Academic Festival Overture, Tragic Overture
Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-4167B Adapter: 3 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
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Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 667
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Fill up missing offset samples with silence : No
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Null samples used in CRC calculations : No
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 320 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d
TOC of the extracted CD
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2 | 13:27.12 | 12:57.00 | 60537 | 118811
3 | 26:24.12 | 6:44.00 | 118812 | 149111
4 | 33:08.12 | 10:42.00 | 149112 | 197261
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End of status report