Johannes Brahms

“At the end, Holl beamed with pleasure and grasped Vignoles in a bear-hug – and the normally sedate audience at the Wigmore rose and cheered.” The Telegraph

“It was impossible for Casals to play anything as if it weren't great music, and even the shortest items on this disc have a depth and warmth which easily overcome the gritty sound of the early 1920s.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2007 *****

“When you have an intelligent, technically almost superhuman ensemble like the Emerson Quartet, playing with obvious feeling for the music, reservations about quartet-style fly out of the window.” BBC Music Magazine

“Technical finesse has always been a given with this group, and as ever their playing has a sureness and ease that leaves most ensembles behind. Their reading of the ebullient Third Quartet is particularly fine, with the leader imbuing the ravishing second-movement melody with teasing little portamenti. And in the finale, lyricism is combined with an infectious élan.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2007

“The most enjoyable feature of this superbly engineered CD is the high level of musical interrelation that it more or less consistently conveys, between Natalia Gutman and the orchestra in the Schumann, and between Abbado and his young players in both works. Gutman's playing, like Abbado's conducting, is communicative and conversational, earnestly so at times, her tone mostly warm in texture, her bowing seamless and in the quieter sections quite ravishing although she's also capable of muscular attack. For a sustained sense of musical line, try the opening minute or so of the slow movement – note how easily the music breathes, even at a relatively slow tempo. The effect is of poignancy beyond words. The finale is playful and fairly genial, and the clarity of Gutman's articulation means that the solo line never sounds merely 'busy'. The orchestra is there with her every bar of the way, ever responsive, attentive and affectionate.
Schumann's Cello Concerto is a late work whereas Brahms's First Serenade is relatively early. Abbado's performance is chamber-like, modestly individual and for the most part beautifully played by the Mahler CO. Just listen to the easeful charm of the opening and the adoring way Abbado draws the first movement's second subject, gradually slowing the tempo before picking it up again for a return to the otherwise pervasive ebullience. No single movement anticipates the later, equivocal Brahms more tellingly than the whimsical Scherzo, thoughtfully played here, while the tripping finale is both assertive and delicate – though, again, the second set is poetically underlined.
This is prime-quality Abbado: points are made but never overstated, and there's always the sense that quality musicians are working together with a common musical aim. Who could possibly ask for more?” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Gutman's playing like Abbado's conducting, is communicative and conversational, earnestly so at times, her tone mostly warm in texture, her bowing seamless and in the quieter sections quite ravishing although she's also capable of muscular attack. No single movement anticipates the later, equivocal Brahms more tellingly than the whimsical Scherzo, thoughtfully played here, while the tripping finale is both assertive and delicate... This is prime quality Abbado... there's always the sense that quality musicians are working together with a common musical aim. Who could possibly ask for more?” Gramophone Magazine, July 2007

“Memorable performance of Beethoven's superb Egmont Overture are rare than one might imagine but this Thielemann performance is exceptional… The Brahms is even more unashamedly "old school", painted from a full, dark palette of sound colours, richly applied and finely blended after the manner of the great colourists of the past... The recording is superb.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2007

“The players, all in the Berlin Philharmonic, are of the highest musical intelligence. In Mozart they have a clear sense of direction in their phrasing. It comes from within the music and is not applied superficially. In the Larghetto the wonderfully expressive dialogue between clarinet and first violin is between two equals. The minuet is light and fresh, with a charming dance lilt in the second trio. There are plenty of recorded choices for both works; this pairing must take its place among the most perceptive and beautiful of all.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2007