Brahms: Kvintety - CD

Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conclude their celebrated Brahms cycle for Pentatone with the Third and Fourth Symphonies. Compared with the epic First and the sombre, pastoral Second, Brahms’s Third Symphony is a magnificent exploration of the chamber-music possibilities of the symphony orchestra. While musical variations on elemental motifs already play an important role in this work, Brahms demonstrates his absolute mastery of the technique even more impressively in the Fourth Symphony. Blomstedt’s analytical attention to detail never comes at the expense of musical expression, and the Gewandhausorchester performs these symphonies with radiant brilliance and an extraordinary ensemble sound. His conducting is inseparably connected with his religious and human ethos, combining great fidelity to the score and analytical precision with a spirituality that brings the music vividly to life. During a career spanning more than sixty years, Blomstedt has earned the unreserved respect of the musical world. The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig is the world’s oldest civic orchestra, with a distinguished history, and remains one of the leading ensembles internationally. Its Pentatone recordings of Brahms’s First Symphony and Tragic Overture from 2020, and his Second Symphony and Academic Festival Overture from 2021, received enthusiastic reviews.