PentaTone have made a name for themselves not just for their
outstandingly engineered original recordings, but for their
re-mastering of older archive recordings for surround sound
systems. Grumiaux’s Beethoven Violin Concerto with Davis and
the Concertgebouw is often cited as a notable success, and here
they turn their hand to Masur’s Lepizig Brahms cycle, originally
released by Decca/Philips. However, it’s not a successful set,
and it’s difficult to see why PentaTone felt it was worth resurrecting.
The chief problem is Masur’s anaemic conducting, which seems
to lack energy and an adequate sense of pacing. The problems
set in early with a lethargic opening to the First, just
about excusable for the sostenuto introduction, but not
for the Allegro, which limps rather than bounds, draining
the music of almost any sense of drama. The slow movement is
worse, slouching its way through soupy orchestral textures,
and the Allegretto is too slow and so is drained of any
of its sunny light-heartedness. Things just about pick up for
the finale, with a well balanced take on the big string theme,
but it’s too little too late and the final peroration feels
as though it has been utterly underserved and under-prepared.
The Second is also too expansive, languishing in its
first two movements so that they music threatens to grind to
a halt. Furthermore, Masur’s homogenous direction seems to sap
the music of any light and shade. Again, the finale storms its
way over the finishing line but the music does not feel as though
it has deserved the jubilant climax. The opening breath of the
Third lacks the exhilarating downward sweep it should
have, and the Allegretto feels so tightly controlled
that it lacks the quality of unfolding from within. The Fourth,
too, is lacklustre in its first movement, though the others
are a little more successful, with a pleasant slow movement.
The Overtures are more successful, more taut with a keener sense
of where the music is going, but that will be little consolation
for most.
Sadly, the Leipzigers’ playing in these recordings is nowhere
near the standard of the top ensembles, with some seriously
off colour brass in the Second and some insecure wind
solos in the Third. Furthermore, the sound on these recordings
isn’t all that hot either, with soupy inner textures and a lack
of clarity above the stave, though I can’t judge whether that’s
down to the Decca original or the PentaTone re-mastering.
No: if you’re looking for a Brahms cycle there are far better
places to go out there. For me, the finest modern Brahms cycle
is Abbado’s from Berlin, featuring peerless playing and incisive
interpretative vision. If you’re on a budget you can’t go wrong
with Karajan’s 1978 cycle with the BPO, utterly compelling,
though it’s becoming harder to find these days.
Simon Thompson
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Kurt Masur 
PTC 5186 182 [3 CDs: 185:00] 
