Symphony No.3 / Serenade No.2

Hybrid SACD Compatible with all CD players. Includes high density stereo and surround tracks that can be read by SACD players.

"The third symphony received the really grand treatment, stately in tempo till the finale, often wonderfully profound in sonority and cumulatively contoured. The true climax of the opening movement was held back to the launch of the coda and the incandescent excitement of this moment was eventually matched by the headlong drama of the finale's central development to create twin pillars supporting the entire structure of the work."
- The Independent

'Best of all was a rare performance of the Serenade No 2, in which massed and solo woodwinds dominate the score and make the music sing out like Schubert. With a half sized orchestra Haitink chose to be light and fleet, and without losing the energy of the music took on the intimacy of a chamber ensemble.'
The Independent, 27 May 2003

'a buoyant, at times almost witty performance … Not a violin in sight, and the LSO's wind-led ensemble at their chamber-musical best.'
The Times, 24 May 2003

The first and final movements of Brahms's third symphony contain some of the most dramatic music he was to compose, yet both end serenely and enclose two beautiful inner movements. The equally exquisite Serenade No 2, unusually scored for wind instruments, violas, cellos and double basses, was one of his own personal favorites and both receive superb performances under Bernard Haitink in the third part of his internationally acclaimed LSO Live Brahms cycle.