Brahms: Variations on a theme by Haydn for orchestra, Op. 56a 'St Anthony Variations'

“The VPO play with spirit and finesse and are obviously enjoying themselves. Of course the ‘Surprise’ comes off with a splendid bang and the tick-tack of the clock is deliciously droll, the violins wonderfully elegant. But sample, too, the swing of the fast Minuet of No. 94, the slow spacious introduction of No. 101, or the fizzing zest of both finales, which still have just the right degree of weight. There are surely no more enjoyable performances on disc (and I am not forgetting Beecham, Dorati or Sir Cohn Davis). Yet what makes this reissue even more treasurable is the inclusion of Monteux’s thrilling LSO account of the Brahms Haydn Variations” Gramophone Magazine

“The orchestral playing is excellent at the vigorous style gives the music a splendid forward impulse: the listener is gripped from first bar to last” Penguin Guide (Brahms)

“there are no more wittily enjoyable performances of these two symphonies in the catalogue. The recordings were considered demonstration-worthy in the early stereo era” Penguin Guide (Haydn)

“This beautifully recorded CD gets off to an auspicious start with an exquisitely phrased and subtly controlled account of Brahms's 14th Hungarian Dance… The Haydn Variations… sounds particularly satisfying here… Fischer secures clarity of texture throughout without sacrificing any warmth. Fischer opens the First Symphony in a very striking but undeniably effective manner, the strings tracing the soaring chromatic melody with the same portamento rich sonority as in the Hungarian Dance. ...perhaps the most exciting and riveting playing is reserved for the Finale where Fischer shows an unerring sense of pacing, coaxing the musical argument from the depths of despair in the opening to triumph, affirmation and elation at the close.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2009 *****

“Ivan Fischer's recording is a real joy: Classical-style limpid textures, an all-round more sprightly attack, yet still a warmly Romantic sound.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2011

“Fischer and his decidedly classy Budapest orchestra treat the Variations as an affectionate tribute to Haydn, an east-of-Vienna man if ever there was one. Finely sprung and nicely styled, the performance even has its own zigeunerisch dimension - in the finale where Brahms's witty and heroic use of the triangle is neatly pointed. the symphony... too is a vibrant affair, stylish and alert... This is a more extrovert reading than many you will hear, less burdened.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2009

“Ever the radical, [Fischer] effectively refashions each work from scratch. The Haydn ­Variations have a grace and lightness of touch we don't often hear in them. The First, meanwhile, is monumental in every sense of the word...Outstanding.” The Guardian, 9th October 2009 *****

“This notoriously difficult yet majestic concerto is the perfect vehicle to show off the considerable talents of dazzling French pianist Cedric Tiberghien, who tackles it with a combination of effortless virtuosity and maturity beyond his years. Partnered with the BBC Symphony and new chief conductor Jiri Belohlavek, Tiberghien is equally at home in the light, contemplative passages, the stormy superstructure and the joyous final movement. The orchestra completes its programme with a spirited rendering of Brahms's Haydn Variations.” The Observer

“few recordings in recent years have matched the emotional intensity and drama that Tiberghien and Belohlavek bring to this masterpiece.” Classic FM Magazine

“The French pianist Cédric Tiberghien, now 32, has climbed to prominence slowly, gathering competition prizes, a Harmonia Mundi recording contract and four CD recital discs of core repertoire from Bach to Debussy. He's no flashy virtuoso: one Lang Lang is enough. But he's refreshingly individual, sensitive, strong-minded, intelligent; more than a name to watch.” The Times

“The recording spotlights the piano so that Tiberghien's every note can be heard and pondered, and he never gives the impression of irresponsibility or excessive calculation. But everything is so shaped and rationally conceived that this powerful work never quite achieves its usual impact...” BBC Music Magazine, January 2008 ****

“Brand-new budget-price recordings which can rub shoulders with the best are rarer than one imagines but this fine new Brahms disc probably comes into that category. Finding a recommendable Brahms Third is more difficult than one might suppose. Since Felix Weingartner made his very fine LPO recording in 1938, the number of great, or even successful, Thirds can probably be listed on the fingers of two hands.
Marin Alsop's reading is certainly fine: dark of hue, lyrical and long drawn, though never, even for a moment, comatose. Rhythm is good, articulation keen, phrasing exquisite, the reading's crepuscular colours glowingly realised by the LPO. The reading has a quality of melancholy, a wistfulness crossed with a sense of incipient tragedy, which is almost Elgarian (Elgar's fascination with the piece is well attested).
Readings such as Furtwängler's and Sanderling's, which are more inclined to tower and course, may not have allowed themselves to be overtopped by the St Antoni Variations, yet there is something rather wonderful about the transition we have here from dark to light. It is a long time since we had a performance of the Variations as well grounded and as keenly profiled as this. Winds are splendidly to the fore: skirling flutes, songful oboes, grumbling descants on the horns 'in deep B'. It is, above all, a reading of great character: the horn-led sixth variation a burgherly jaunt, the seventh variation a handsome galliard, the finale a Meistersinger- like revel.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Marin Alsop's reading is certainly fine: dark of hue, lyrical and long drawn, though never, even for a moment, comatose. Rhythm is good, articulation keen, phrasing exquisite, the reading's crepuscular colours glowingly realised by the LPO. The reading has a quality of melancholy, a wistfulness crossed with a sense of incipient tragedy, which is almost Elgarian” Gramophone Magazine

‘Van Beinum’s performance has a fizzing brilliance, humour and pin-point precision that is hard to beat. A terrific disc.’ International Record Review