Over the past few days
I have had an extremely enjoyable time
reviewing Australian Eloquence CDs of
the complete Brahms symphonies performed
by these forces. Based upon the RED
catalogue, the dances are still available
at full price in the UK so to be able
to buy them at super-budget price is
a clear advantage. Compared with the
symphonies these recordings are early
digital material and there is no background
noise at all compared with very slight
hiss with the analogue recordings. The
acoustic is clear and warm and this
serves to enhance these performances
by an orchestra and conductor who have
this music in their bones.
As many music-lovers
are aware, Brahms did not orchestrate
all of these dances himself. They were
originally written for piano duet. He
entrusted this task to Hallen, Juon,
Parlow, Schmelling, Schollum, and Dvořák.
Most other recordings use these arrangements
or different combinations of the different
arrangers. A notable exception is the
disc by Ivan Fischer and the Budapest
Festival Orchestra on Philips. There
the conductor applied his skills to
enhance the Hungarian folk atmosphere
of these charming little dances.
I cannot fault the
current versions, Masur having the full
measure of their character. The orchestra
has no shortcomings whatsoever in their
execution.
This disc is another
example of the shrewdness of marketing
in Australia. What they have done is
put on to the market at an almost silly
price - it can now be had for less than
four pounds - a recording of the Brahms
dances, supplied with good notes and
a very tasteful presentation. All that
Universal elsewhere seem to be able
to do is to keep the full price issue
in the catalogue (since 1984!).
You should not be put
off by the fact that these discs have
to be bought from ‘down under’. In these
days of the Internet, the process could
not be simpler, and the delivery performance
of these suppliers is so good that stocked
items can be with you within a week
– better than most UK mail order suppliers.
Very highly recommended.
John Phillips
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Kurt Masur.
