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	Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897) Four Hand Piano Music, Volume 8 Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op.98 (1884) Tragic Overture, Op. 81 (1880) Silke-Thora Matthies, Christian Köln (piano duet) Rec. Clara Wieck Auditorium, Sandhausen, Germany on September 2nd-7th, 1996. DDD NAXOS 8.554117 [54’16]
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Performing a mainstay of the orchestral repertoire in an arrangement for piano duet at home is one thing, but issuing it on the open market raises all sorts of questions. Certainly, the curiosity value may well convince some collectors to part with a fiver, but whatever the talents of the Matthies-Köhn duo, they cannot erase memories of the Brahmsian original. In the event, these pianists provide neat, adequate performances that only occasionally take off and immerse the listener in the spirit of Brahms. So in the Symphony, the first movement is neat and accurate, but more imagination is needed to compensate for the generally monochrome colours. The whole experience, in fact, serves as a salutary reminder of the importance of scoring in Brahms’ symphonic world. It is only in the third movement that they take off to any extent. Here all is exuberant (and the pianistic imitation of a triangle is great fun!), and the success of this movement leads on to a sensitive and carefully considered finale. There is no denying this version of the Fourth is worth hearing, but whether it is worth hearing more than the once is up for discussion. The Tragic Overture is given an appropriately dramatic reading, with fortissimo chords nicely together. Is it actually that this is more successful, or was it that my ears were getting used to the whole idea?. Whatever the case, there is no doubting the dedication of the performers (Köhn is after all editor of the Bärenreiter Edition of the Brahms four-hand piano music). Just don’t expect any massive revelations. Colin Clarke see also review by Roy Brewer Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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