Leonard Bernstein’s second Brahms cycle, with the Vienna Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon, featured some of the slowest, most self-indulgent music making of his career, though the playing as such was gorgeous. The earlier New York Philharmonic cycle can’t compare with the Viennese for sheer beauty of sound, but Bernstein’s performances are far more persuasive. Indeed, the best performance here is of the more difficult symphony of the pair–the Third–in which everything culminates in an exciting yet disciplined account of the passionate finale. In general, Bernstein offers straightforward, vigorous music making in both works, and the orchestra responds with fervor. There are more subtle accounts, perhaps, but few as bracing. Throw in excellently remastered sound, and the result is a very pleasant surprise in an area of the repertoire that isn’t normally considered Lenny territory.
