GREAT RECORDINGS phase 12

BRAHMS: SYMPHONIES Nos.1-4
ACADEMIC FESTIVAL & TRAGIC OVERTURES
VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY HAYDN
*ALTO RHAPSODY
*Christa Ludwig & Philharmonia Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Otto Klemperer

5 62742 2 (3CDs)

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'The First Symphony is compelling, the Second is the greatest, the most revealing performance ever recorded, and in the Fourth Symphony, infinitely grand and penetrating, Klemperer reveals more than most of us dreamed of perceiving.' (Gramophone)

This is an important reissue bringing together all of Otto Klemperer's recordings of Brahms with Walter Legge's Philharmonia Orchestra. The earliest - the 'Haydn' Variations - comes from October 1954 and Klemperer's first recording sessions with the orchestra.

The four symphonies and the two overtures were recorded during two intensive periods in October/November 1956 and March 1957, and the sublime Alto Rhapsody, with the distinguished mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig as the soloist, was part of a vocal recital with orchestra recorded in March 1962.

Klemperer, a Brahms addict from his earliest years, is a formidable interpreter of the composer's symphonic masterworks, and these recordings demonstrate the great German conductor's deep understanding of music to which he was devoted.