Brahms: Symphony No. 1 (CD review)

Also, Beethoven: Symphony No. 1. Gunter Wand, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Profil PHO6044.

In his golden years, conductor Gunter Wand seemed to record the works of the same few composers over and over again, particularly Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, and Schubert. Practice makes perfect, I suppose, and in the 1980's and 90's, Wand certainly got enough practice. Of course, he had been perfecting his performances over a lifetime, the man passing in 2002 when he was about ninety years old. The performances contained on this disc he recorded in 1994 and 1997 in live concerts.

The Brahms First Symphony (1876) is the big gun of the duo, and Wand conducts a commendably mature, restrained, and highly cultured version of it. Not that there is anything sedate or "old" sounding about the interpretation. It has plenty of zip when it's needed, and the finale, especially, is quite exhilarating. The two inner movements are lovely as well, the third movement, usually reserved for a quick-moving Scherzo replaced by a gentle Allegretto, a shepherd's tune that segues nicely into the final movement, with its big, familiar central melody. Not that I'm overly fond of the Brahms First, but this interpretation comes off as well as one could want. However, this is not a fiery, throbbing, soaring performance of the sort that Christian Thielemann recorded with the same orchestra years later for DG, nor is it the kind of grand architectural gem that Klemperer put forth for EMI; it's a more of a reasoned, refined, old-line approach.

But it's really the Beethoven First Symphony (1800) I enjoyed most. Here, Wand let himself go a bit more, the earlier composer's music sounding more joyous and spontaneous. The coupling is particularly apt as Brahms was always afraid his symphonies would never measure up to Beethoven's. Although he was right, the fellow came close.

As I mentioned, Wand made the recordings live, but, fortunately, they do not have the typically recessed sonics of a live recording. The sound is pleasant without being in any way remarkable or spectacular. The audio is slightly soft and warm, miked reasonably close up, well spread out across the speakers, and nicely balanced. Played too loudly, you'll hear a small degree of strain and harshness in the upper strings, but it's hardly anything worth bothering about. And there is no noise from the audience until the unfortunate outburst of applause at the end of each selection.

Adapted from a review the author originally published in the $ensible Sound magazine.

JJP