Brahms: Symphony No. 2 / Hungarian Dances

"Soon after I wrote about her performance of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 just a few months ago, conductor Marin Alsop gained quite a bit of notoriety when she was named music director of the Baltimore Symphony.

That made her the first woman director of a "major" symphony orchestra in the United States. The big question should have been: "What took so long?" Alsop has directed major orchestras around the world, and Joann Faletta has been at the helm of the Buffalo Philharmonic - just a step below "major" status - for about six years.

Well, congratulations to Alsop - but the big focus at this writing is how she handled the second Brahms symphony with London Philharmonic, with whom she turned in a wonderful performance of the first symphony.

Brahms (1833-97) finished his Symphony No. 2 in 1877, only a year after he debuted the first symphony. The earlier work had bedeviled the great German composer, having taken him 13 years or more to finish. The second is often described as "sunny" after the great storm clouds of the first. I've never thought of this music as "sunny" although it certainly finds Brahms in a more relaxed state than the earlier work.

The big first movement - a little more than 20 minutes in length - has moments of beauty combined with the strength I admire in Brahms. The gentle opening leads to some almost pastoral surroundings. The very careful listener can even hear the slightest hint of variations on Brahms's famous lullaby.

The second movement is a lovely adagio that Alsop seems to take particular pride in presenting here. Brahms, however, seldom went long without a cloud passing through even the sunniest of music. There are conflicts in this section, but everything is resolved satisfactorily in the end.

Brahms never really adhered to Beethoven's tradition of making the third movement of a symphony into a scherzo - which is a musical joke. Instead, the feeling is one of contentment. Here is a composer who is happy with what he is doing although Brahms was much too serious a man to inject outright jollity in this brief part.

The liveliest music in this symphony is saved for the final movement. The orchestra is allowed to play with seeming abandon; but, of course, Brahms never lets things get completely beyond his control. Alsop has also kept a tight rein on her forces throughout this wonderful performance of a great symphony.

Although Brahms was born in Hamburg, he made Vienna his adopted home city; and it was there that this work was first heard on December 30, 1877.

For the remainder of this disc, Alsop and the Naxos label have decided on eight of Brahms's 21 "Hungarian Dances." These works were written for piano duet in the 1860s. Alsop has given us the three - Nos. 1, 3, and 10 - that Brahms himself orchestrated along with Nos. 17 through 21 that Antonin Dvorak set for orchestra. Brahms greatly admired his younger colleague, and Alsop did the right thing in selecting these works to make a perfectly judged package.

This disc appeared only a few months after Alsop's commercially successful First Brahms symphony. The other two are probably not far behind, and I'll be waiting to hear them."
-- Sefton Wiggs, New Bern (North Carolina) Sun Journal, October 20, 2005

"After her widely acclaimed recording of the Symphony No. 1 , many have anxiously awaited the arrival of the next installment in Marin Alsop's cycle, and I can assure you dear reader, that you will not be disappointed. What impressed me most was the gentleness of her approach to this music. At over twenty minutes, there has to be something of interest at all times going on in the opening movement, and Alsop finds all of the characteristic counter-melodies in Brahms' score, and lovingly invites them out to play, and sends them back indoors when it is time for the next guest's appearance.

Equally remarkable is the lush, golden tone that she gets from the London Philharmonic's string section, the evenly balanced winds and just-right juxtaposition of support and power from the brass. Tempi throughout are just perfect. The second movement adagio is never syrupy; rather there is that immediately appealing amber quality about the sound that makes Brahms sound like Brahms. Ms. Alsop's glory is in her refusal to superimpose her own ego on the music. It still belongs to the composer, and in her hands is lovingly recreated, held aloft with the utmost respect. The third movement is played with élan and grace, and the conclusion is never raucous, rather, Alsop serves up a joyous, triumphant conclusion.

The disc is filled out with a nice sampling of the Hungarian Dances, originally composed for piano four-hands, here deftly orchestrated by both Brahms and his protégé Antonín Dvorák. These pieces show Brahms' oft-suppressed sense of humor and are indicative of the composer's fascination with folk music. There is nothing profound about this music, but Alsop delivers these little gems with panache and fun, and they are a delightful release of tension from the more intense symphony.

Alsop's Brahms cycle is one that should go alongside the great cycles of Solti, Szell and von Karajan as exemplary readings. That they are available at Naxos price and ease of acquisition is a big bonus. This is one that you will not want to miss, regardless of how many other recordings you have of these works. Outstanding on every level."
-- Kevin Sutton, MusicWeb International, October 2005