MAHLER Symphony No 4 BRAHMS Symphony No 2 WAGNER Tannhäuser Overture
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: ICA Classics
Magazine Review Date: 01/2014
Media Format: Digital Versatile Disc
Media Runtime: 57
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: ICAD5119
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 2 |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra Johannes Brahms, Composer Rudolf Kempe, Conductor |
Tannhäuser, Movement: Overture |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Richard Wagner, Composer Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Rudolf Kempe, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Felix Mendelssohn
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: ICA Classics
Magazine Review Date: 01/2014
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 74
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: ICAC5117
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 4 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra Gustav Mahler, Composer Joan Alexander, Soprano Rudolf Kempe, Conductor |
Parsifal, Movement: Prelude |
Richard Wagner, Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra Richard Wagner, Composer Rudolf Kempe, Conductor |
Ruy Blas |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer London Symphony Orchestra Rudolf Kempe, Conductor |
Author: Rob Cowan
Both the symphony and a worthy reading of Wagner’s Parsifal Prelude from eight years later are with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, whereas Kempe’s uncommonly urgent (and brightly lit) reading of Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture from 1967 is with the LSO. Both made more of an impression on me than a Royal Festival Hall concert reading with the RPO of Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture from 1973 as featured on the DVD, efficiently played, energetic for sure but lacking in sweep and subtlety.
How different Kempe’s Bamberg Brahms Second from the same year, where the city’s Symphony Orchestra respond to Kempe’s clearly defined gestures with dedication and unanimity, whether in the taut arguments that dominate the outer movements (the first movement’s development section is especially impressive) or in the weighted, aching textures of the Adagio non troppo slow movement. The camerawork is often more effective too, more revealing of detail, lingering on Kempe’s quizzical expressions between the first and second movements, which suggest a combination of inner satisfaction and (perhaps) pensiveness about what’s to come. No worries there, with an account of the Allegretto grazioso third movement that features an especially fiery middle section, while the finale, which exits in a super-swift blaze of glory, is played with great intensity (especially by the brass), a true summation, just as it should be. So an enthusiastic thumbs-up for Mahler, Brahms and Mendelssohn, while, to be truthful, Wagner is better served elsewhere.
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