For the first three movements, this is as lovely and smart a performance of Brahms’ Second Symphony as you’ll ever hope to hear. Fischer opens the work at a perfect, flowing tempo, full of latent energy. He shapes the exposition’s broad musical paragraphs masterfully, with the lead-back to the repeat so subtly phrased that you may not realize that it’s happening until it has already occurred. The Adagio, too, has such poise and nobility, with string playing of superhuman purity and woodwind chords so luminously balanced you’d think they’re coming from another world. In the Allegretto grazioso third movement, “graciousness” is what you get, but not without effortless athleticism in the quick trio sections.
Then comes the big letdown in the finale. It’s flat, underplayed, with a coda singularly lacking in excitement. You don’t have to step on the accelerator here (though it’s better if you do, at least a bit), but the music demands some boost in energy. Fischer sounds mechanical, excessively controlled, almost embarrassed by the music’s high spirits. What a shame! The same observation applies to the Tragic Overture, a performance without the necessary fire in its belly. The program concludes with a jolly, rollicking Academic Festival Overture, and it’s all recorded with Channel Classics’ typically warm and natural fidelity in stereo, SACD stereo, and SACD multi-channel formats. But with so many great Brahms Seconds around, what is the point of this three-quarters wonderful version? A disc primarily for Fischer fans.
