In 1999 EMI brought out a live Brahms Symphony cycle with Sergiu Celibidache conducting the Munich Philharmonic. What convinces about these unconventionally broad and decidedly linear readings has much to do the remarkable precision and tonal beauty with which the musicians carry out their maestro’s bidding. Deutsche Grammophon’s long-awaited U.S. release of the studio-phobic conductor’s Stuttgart Radio Symphony Brahms, however, tells a different story. In these recordings, made between 1974 and 1976, we encounter a younger, less idiosyncratic, and more energized conductor. Nothing unusual can be gleaned from these profoundly normal, uncluttered performances. The Third Symphony stands out both for its surging propulsion in the outer movements and for its impactive sound. Generally speaking, the engineering reflects good stereo archival quality but falls short of the best studio versions in every price range. That’s a major issue when you consider that this set is being sold at full price. And not even Celibidache’s excessive rehearsal demands were able to transform the workaday Stuttgart musicians into their Berlin Philharmonic counterparts, or their Munich colleagues, for that matter. DG includes a 27-minute bonus rehearsal disc where Celi works through the Fourth Symphony’s first movement exposition, shouts at his players to be more rhythmically exact, and passionately sings along in a grating, tuneless voice. If you want Celi’s Brahms, stick with the sonically and interpretively superior EMI versions.
