Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

[Madiel]

Today it was time to introduce myself to the Violin Sonata No.1, op.78

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Beautiful. Sublime, even.

Obviously a lot of that has to do with the music, which is highly lyrical, but that's also the kind of music that just sits perfectly for these 2 performers, who I already know from other recordings. They're not about being showy, but about subtlety - which makes it more effective when they do let loose a little for loud passages, like in the middle of the slow movement.

I will most definitely be reaching for THIS again.

[Madiel]

What, no reaction? Sigh.

Anyway, still diarising the chamber music... listened to Piano Trio No.2, op.87 today (with the Beaux Arts), which is a work I'm already familiar with. What struck me about it today is that it seems quite straightforward and direct by Brahms' standards. That's not remotely meant as a criticism. It just feels like open, direct music.

[Wanderer]

Today it was time to introduce myself to the Violin Sonata No.1, op.78

[asin]B00005QITM[/asin]

Beautiful. Sublime, even.

Obviously a lot of that has to do with the music, which is highly lyrical, but that's also the kind of music that just sits perfectly for these 2 performers, who I already know from other recordings. They're not about being showy, but about subtlety - which makes it more effective when they do let loose a little for loud passages, like in the middle of the slow movement.

I will most definitely be reaching for THIS again.

The op.78 "Regenlied"-Sonata is a great favourite of mine (the first movement is utterly sublime) and, as I recall, this is one of the good renditions of it. Two versions of op.78 I particularly enjoy are Zukerman/Barenboim (they shape its mellifluous lyricism to perfection) as well as the recent Cerovsek/Jumppanen (equally lyrical and a tad more forceful, to stunning result).

[Karl Henning]

What, no reaction? Sigh.

The Violin Sonatas are exquisite indeed.

[North Star]

The Violin Sonatas are exquisite indeed.

Yes. And so are all those Hyperion recordings of the chamber music.
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[amw]

Obviously a lot of that has to do with the music, which is highly lyrical, but that's also the kind of music that just sits perfectly for these 2 performers, who I already know from other recordings. They're not about being showy, but about subtlety - which makes it more effective when they do let loose a little for loud passages, like in the middle of the slow movement.

Osostowicz/Tomes are exactly the sort of combination you need for this piece, with their mix of introspection and spontaneity. I'm sure they are also excellent in Op. 100.

I've got four recordings of the G major sonata at present.
Isabelle Faust/Alexander Melnikov - Faust's violin sound is what it is. You could describe it as 'sinewy' if you're a fan. Also, when playing Brahms she has a bit of a tendency to wobble. However, this is a carefully thought out and passionate rendition, every phrase perfectly shaped. It also comes with the best recording of the Horn Trio I know of, and Melnikov's contributions include some surprisingly forceful Fantasies Op. 116, free of the Karajan Syndrome  he usually suffers from.
Thomas Albertus Irnberger/Evgueni Sinaiski - Irnberger's fairly unique: has a pure tone, incredibly secure in the upper register, but uses lots and lots of portamento. Perhaps he's trying to imitate violinists from the 1920s and 30s. He's also a massive drama queen, so YMMV. I think it's great. Sinaiski's sensitive playing on an 1860s piano helps to ground him a little.
Gidon Kremer/Valery Afanassiev - Slow. That's probably the first thing you'll notice. More specifically, Afanassiev is constantly slowing to a crawl, and Kremer's always left to bring him back up to tempo. This is a recording you'll either love, get bored with or find incredibly annoying. I find that the continual assaults on the pulse serve to play up the romantic aspects of the piece, destroying the illusions of reserve and classicism usually attributed to Brahms and turning it into essentially a 35-minute (yes, 35) free fantasy hardly recogniseable as the original sonata. Very much an 'alternate' take.
Arthur Grumiaux/György Shiba-Inu - such delicate, much affectionate, very expression, wow

+ the cello arrangement, variously attributed to Brahms or part of the Klengel mafia. I strongly recommend this. Persons with perfect pitch are to note that the music has been recast in D major.
Marc Coppey/Peter Laul - Coppey's sound, ranging from feathery to majestic to growling and with minimal vibrato, is surely the envy of violinists everywhere. The players imbue the music with tenderness and intimacy, even the forceful bits. If you don't like this one, the cello version has been recorded a few other times, by Ma and Wispelwey and some other less famous cellists I don't remember right now.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

The very first chamber music work from Brahms that I heard was A major violin sonata. It's really hard for me to say my favorite of them. One day it's G major one, other day A major one and sometimes D minor.

[Artem]

i've given another listen to A German Requiem today. It's the kind of work that would usually appeal to me, but I just can't get into it as a whole. The first two parts are beautiful, but afterwards it's just a big mass of sound and i can't pick out much variety there. Will try again soon, because I like Brahms a lot in general. That's the version that I have:

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[TheGSMoeller]

i've given another listen to A German Requiem today. It's the kind of work that would usually appeal to me, but I just can't get into it as a whole. The first two parts are beautiful, but afterwards it's just a big mass of sound and i can't pick out much variety there. Will try again soon, because I like Brahms a lot in general. That's the version that I have:

[asin]B006LL02PK[/asin]

Perhaps try a performance with a smaller scale group. This helped me. Any of Gardiner's discs will do, both beautiful and extremely transparent. I have the Sinopoli which is gorgeous playing but I find the sound of the larger groups sometimes allow the music to get lost.
This is of course just my subjective view, but I will add that I love the German Requiem regardless of who is performing, but I didn't get that point until I listened to Gardiner's.

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[Artem]

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

[Madiel]

I was listening to String Quintet No.1 (op.88) today: in which Brahms secretly reuses 25-year-old piano pieces. The cad.

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(Ahem. Don't ask me why Amazon has the English-titled disc image for the mp3s, but the German-titled version for the CD!)

To me, this is generally Brahms in his warm and lyrical mode. I do, however, rather like the level of complexity in the music (having said that I was fine with op.87 being relatively straightforward!). There are lots of interesting changes in key and tempo. And then in the finale he acts all fugal for a bit.

[Jo498]

What is that connection to an older piano piece? Is that a published piece? Never heard about that. But I like both quintets very much, the maybe slightly less famous first one even more than the second one.

[Madiel]

No, not published pieces. Ones that Brahms burned, but other people had copies and they emerged after his death. A sarabande and gavotte that he wrote in the 1850s are the basis of the 2nd movement.  I'm surprised you haven't heard about it, because every single commentary I saw yesterday mentioned it!

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I just noticed the striking similarity between the opening theme of Mahler's symphony no. 3 and the famous string melody from finale of Brahms's first. Intentional on Mahler's part? What was Mahler's opinion of Brahms, anyway (considering how big Wagner fanatic he was AND during the time period that he lived, I am foreseeing the answer).

[Madiel]

Having another go at the Cello Sonata No.2 (op.99) tonight.

It seems a rather grand affair. The first movement in particular seems to be aiming to sound big. I'd thought maybe it was just my recording (Tortelier/de la Pau), but some commentary I've read gives the same impression.

There are some really surprising textures too, eg the beginning of the second movement.

It'll be interesting to see how this compares to op.100 (which I've never heard) and op.101 (which my records indicate I haven't listened to in full since 2009!).

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I'm a sucker for viola quintets, and Brahms's are no exception.

From the quintets Brahms wrote I like the string ones much more than piano and clarinet ones.

[Karl Henning]

I'd say I prefer the viola quintets to the clarinet quintet, yes;  though I may like the clarinet quintet a bit better than you.  Maybe!

[Jo498]

I prefer the piano and the clarinet quintet but all four quintets are great. This probably belongs rather to the other chamber music voting thread. My least favorite chamber pieces of Brahms are the 2nd cello sonata and the C major piano trio. The horn trio is a piece I do not really know well enough, I am afraid.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I prefer the piano and the clarinet quintet but all four quintets are great. This probably belongs rather to the other chamber music voting thread. My least favorite chamber pieces of Brahms are the 2nd cello sonata and the C major piano trio. The horn trio is a piece I do not really know well enough, I am afraid.

2nd cello sonata isn't one of my favorites either. On the contrast, the first one is one of my favorite chamber music works of all time.

[NorthNYMark]

2nd cello sonata isn't one of my favorites either. On the contrast, the first one is one of my favorite chamber music works of all time.

I agree--not so much about the 2nd sonata, which I still enjoy quite a bit, but mainly about the 1st.  It is a recent discovery for me, but one which completely knocked me out, and is well on its way to becoming one of my favorite chamber works as well.