Conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn once remarked how Brahms’ First Symphony was too often played “in a bearded way”, as if composed by the bewhiskered, elderly Brahms frequently portrayed on CD covers. Well, Kurt Masur proves a staunch advocate of this approach as he leads a first movement belabored by leaden tempos and heavy sonorities, making it sound endless–even without the exposition repeat. Giulini took a similar approach in his celebrated Los Angeles Philharmonic recording, but such is the intensity of his conducting and of the orchestral execution that it holds your attention from first bar to last.
Masur’s rendition is not nearly so compelling, as the music blandly trudges along through the first three movements. The finale picks up noticeably after the beautifully played introduction (indeed, the Leipzig orchestra provides wonderfully burnished playing throughout), but it runs out of steam right at the big climax. No doubt the cavernous and opaque recording siphons off much of the performance’s dynamic impact, a condition that also afflicts the Haydn Variations–though in this case you can discern a vitality that’s missing from the symphony. Suffice it to say that there are many, many preferable options for these works.
