Notes and Editorial Reviews
Eschenbach [conducts the third symphony] with...communicative phrasing, all manner of tenutos, hesitations and dynamic refinements, a third movement intermezzo that is extended to become a second slow movement (7'45'' to Ashkenazy's 5'51''), and Furtwangler-like variations of pace in the outer movements. Eschenbach even begins with the older master's broad and crescendoing opening motto (I am referring to a 1949 Berlin/Furtwangler concert recording, available over the years on a number of labels)...
Eschenbach's Alto Rhapsody is...a pearl of considerable price. Quite aptly, given the Wagnerian feel of the opening verse, Vejzovic's Kundry for Karajan (DG, 10/84) is recalled as she chillingly colours and times the words ''die
Read more
Oede verschlingt ihn'' (''the wilderness swallows him up''); and though she may swallow a few too many of her consonants compared with, say, Lipovsek for Abbado, or Baker for Boult, her style is noticeably less declamatory than either. Here, too, Eschenbach's flexibility and shadings really make their mark. The final verse—properly sotto voce and with Vezjovic more integrated with chorus and orchestra than Jard van Nes for Blomstedt—is balm indeed.
-- John Steane, Gramophone [6/1994]
Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Symphony no 3 in F major, Op. 90 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:
Christoph Eschenbach
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Houston Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1883; Austria
2.
Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:
Christoph Eschenbach
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Houston Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884-1885; Austria
3.
Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53 by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
Dunja Vejzovic (Alto)
Conductor:
Christoph Eschenbach
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Houston Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1869; Austria
4.
Tragic Overture, Op. 81 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:
Christoph Eschenbach
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Houston Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1880; Austria
Sound Samples
Symphony No. 3 in F Op. 90: I. Allegro con brio - Un poco sostenuto
Symphony No. 3 in F Op. 90: II. Andante
Symphony No. 3 in F Op. 90: III. Poco allegretto
Symphony No. 3 in F Op. 90: IV. Allegro - Un poco sostenuto
Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98: I. Allegro non troppo
Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98: II. Andante moderato
Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98: III. Allegro giocoso
Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98: IV. Allegro energico e passionato
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 
( 1 Customer Review )
Lovely idiomatic performance January 4, 2013
By Nadine Harris (Barrington, RI) See All My Reviews
"Surprisingly nice brass playing and really admirable conducting brimming with Viennese style. Nice job by the Serbian mezzo in the Alto Rhapsody. All in all, a very satisfying disk to own."
Report Abuse
Review This Title
