Customer Rating: 
Summary: BEWILDERED
Comment: I bought on release in the 1950's a black vinyl (on EMI) of The first of the Brahms Symphonies with Toscanini and NBC SO, and hoped that by ordering this set of the four, I would be getting a remaster of that volcanic interpretation. But reading the reviews, I couldn't work out whether the performances dated from the 1930's or 1950's, and whether they were recorded in Carnegie Hall or in a studio. If from the later period, they offer one of music's mountaintop experiences
Customer Rating:
Summary: SMALL SONIC PROBLEM/SOME EVEN BETTER
Comment: I agree with other reviewers who have praised the great improvements in sound quality over previous releases of these splendid performances. I have, however, noted one problem that I do not recall in earlier releases: occasional flutter and wow that sometimes, for example, makes particular string passages sound as if they are being played with excessive vibrato. This may be a result of going back to the original tapes and in my view only detracts in a small way from the overall excellence of the set. In sprite of the excellence of this set, however, I believe that there are other Toscanini performances of the Brahms symphonies that are even better. I recommend, for example, the performance of the Brahms Third on Guild and the performance of that same symphony on Naxos.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must have - recordings of a great conductor with his own orchestra from 1951 & 1952
Comment: Being perfectly frank, I have a real problem with the four symphonies of Johannes Brahms. I cannot choose between them. Whichever one I am hearing is my favorite at that moment. At one point it is the brass chorale, or a particularly beautiful cello passage, or the fabulously limpid clarinet, or exuberance, or pathos, or the horns! These are four masterworks that are supreme treasures of the musical art.
Brahms began working on his first symphony more than a decade before it was premiered. He wanted to be sure he was producing something absolutely right. He got it more than right. The first symphony in C Minor (Op 68) is from 1876 (Brahms was born in 1833), the second in D Major (Op 73) followed quickly in 1877. The third in F Major (Op 90) is from 1883 and the last in E Minor (Op 98) was premiered in 1885. Brahms died in 1897.
Arturo Toscanini lived his life in music and grew from being an opera house cellist to one of the greatest conductors of his era and one of the immortals of the podium. Many people comment on his driving and fast tempi. He may have been a bit brisker than others at times, but one of the reasons his performances seemed so fast is that he made sure you heard everything possible in the score. When so much is happening for your ear and you try to take it all in, well, it seems awfully fast. This is one of the things Arthur Rubenstein had in mind when he admonished young pianists that if they wanted to play fast they had to slow down. Toscanini kept the orchestral tempi up, but made each moment full to capacity of music.
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was created for Toscanini by David Sarnoff in 1937 and was led by the master for seventeen years. The orchestra not only recorded with him, but made public concerts and even toured. And it made money! Sadly, and to Toscanini's distress, the orchestra was disbanded when he retired in 1954. It was renamed the Symphony of the Air and led by Stokowski into the sixties, but its great day had passed.
These recordings of the four symphonies are from 1951 and 1952. And while they have been digitally remastered and sound great for their time, they do not have the full sound of a modern recording. However, you should not care. You should do a little mental translation and enjoy the exquisite beauty of this great music led by one of the great conductors and played by some quite fine musicians. The performances are all quite well done. The album notes do highlight a couple of the changes Toscanini made to Brahms' score to make things sound out better, but notes that a couple of them might be too much, like the addition of tympani in the finale of the third symphony (bars 172-77) and the 32nd note accacciaturas at the end of the symphony that simply make the orchestra sound a bit sloppy.
This is a set to have in your library of recordings of these great works. Really it is a must have.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Brahms
Comment: One of the mainstays of Arturo Toscanini's repertoire was the four symphonies of Johannes Brahams (1833-1897). He returned to this music again and again, as he sought to achieve definitive performances of the master's music. His very first NBC Symphony Orchestra broadcast performance, on December 25, 1937, included a powerful rendition of the Brahams first symphony. His commercial recording, made in the early 1950's, was one of his greatest achievements. This is very dramatic music and the Maestro recognized this. He excelled in dramatic works and the first symphony clearly excited him. To his credit, the more sensitive, lyrical sections of the symphony were handled with great care. Nevertheless, the first and fourth movements of the symphony are absolutely amazing.
The second and third symphonies of Brahams are generally lighter than the first and fourth symphonies. Indeed, the third symphony is filled with grace and dignity, with each movement ending quietly. Tchaikovsky complained that Brahms' music was too academic and too often "on a pedestal." Friends tried to convince Tchaikovsky that Brahms' band of romanticism was equally valid and this is quite clear in these works. Toscanini's renditions are poetic, containing great contrasts of dynamics.
The fourth symphony, which is still considered the most original and most curious of Brahms' four symphonies, was given a powerful performance by Toscanini and the NBC orchestra in this session. I have seldom heard the symphony played so convincingly and with such grandeur and majesty. The first movement virtually grabs the listener of this performance. Toscanini, to his credit, continues to amaze us throughout this work. The fourth movement, which is such an amazing piece, has a tendency to run away in some conductor's hands; this is not the case with Toscanini. He keeps things under control while still managing to excite and intrigue us.
All four of these symphonies benefited from recording in Carnegie Hall, rather than the NBC Symphony's longtime home of Studio 8-H. There is some reverberation and a definite boost to the acoustics. Digitally remastering of the original magnetic tapes is a plus. These performances remain hallmarks of the artistry of Toscanini.
By contrast, one may listen to Toscanini's concert performances of the four symphonies with the Philharmonia Orchestra, recorded in the fall of 1952 in London. These are equally wonderful recordings and proved to be Toscanini's very last performances in the United Kingdom.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Four Brahms symphonies on two discs!
Comment: It takes Toscanini's driven tempos and BMG's blink-of-an-eye breaks between movements to do it, but they've managed to cram all four Brahms symphonies onto two discs, where the usual is three discs with fillers. There are none here, needless to say. Out of curiosity I compared timings with my Furtwangler set from Music and Arts.
Sym. #1: Furtwangler 47 min. Toscanini 41 min.
Sym. #2: Furtwangler 39 min. Toscanini 37 min.
Sym. #3: Furtwangler 41 min. Toscanini 39 min.
Sym. #4: Furtwangler 40 min. Toscanini 36 min.
Since the Second and Third are often accommodated on a single CD, the difference here is that Toscanini is so much faster in the First and marginally in the Fourth that they can be combined. The First in particular is a race through the opening movement and scherzo; in the former case the results are thrilling, in the latter they are nerve-wracking.
Other reviewers are enthusiastic about Toscanini as a Brahmsian, and I am, too. It's not that he applies any special insight; this music is given the same precise, clear, focused energy that Toscanini brought to almost everything. But Brhams benefits more than, say, Mendelssohn or Schubert from the laser treatment. We are miles away from Bernstein's lengthy, moody meditations on Brahms. I like both approaches. With the almost unbelievable improvement in sonics, this set brings Toscanini back into play as a modern conductor. I would compare these readings with the almost contemporary ones from London with the Philharmonia (Testament), but the latter cost fifty dollars more.
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