Brahms: The 4 Symphonies (Riccardo Chailly)

Johannes Brahms - The 4 Symphonies

Riccardo Chailly

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Recorded 1987-1991

Mr. Chailly's Brahms was not as intense as Arturo Toscanini's or as mystically compelling as Wilhelm Furtwangler's or, to name another Concertgebouw predecessor, Willem Mengelberg's. But it balanced those attributes skillfully, and if capitalized on the warm, woody tonal qualities of this fine orchestra."

The New York Times

...and a "harsh" review

With some composers in some works, the medium is the message. For Brahms in his orchestral works, the medium of choice is rich oils with deep colors, lush textures, and full brushstrokes. Whether hard driven by Toscanini or high flying by Furtwängler, whether enormously dramatic by Solti or immensely intense by Szell, Brahms' orchestral music should always sound like Rembrandt's paintings look: rich, deep, lush, and full. Unfortunately, in this collection of Brahms' symphonies by Riccardo Chailly and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the medium of choice appears to be thick pastels with garish colors, messy textures, and flabby downbeats. It's not that the Concertgebouw can't play the music: it has played and recorded Brahms' symphonies innumerable times and clearly knows the music backwards, forwards, inside out, and sideways. And it's not that Chailly can't conduct the music. A highly skilled conductor with a particular knack for twentieth century music, Chailly can obviously do anything he wants with the music. But Chailly's approach to the music just sounds wrong. In his hands, Brahms' themes sound less lyric than simple, his forms sound less dramatic than prosaic, his ideas sound less profound than obvious, his emotions sound less honest than sentimental, and his ideals sound less late German Romantic than early adolescent sophomoric. Despite Decca's warmly molded sound, this set is less successful than unnecessary. 

James Leonard