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Review by mwgfrg September 28, 2010 (10 of 12 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
| If this were not one of the truly greatest Brahms Symphony recordings ever made, Esoteric's pricey reissue wouldn't be justified. The original CD release of an undistinguished digital recording was pretty awful: glassy, tubby, you choose the word. Subsequent reissues improved on the original, and a recent Japanese SHM-CD was actually quite respectable. The Esoteric is a major step forward: the upper strings have real bite without being shrill, there is a new clarity in the lower ones, the bass has some real extension, and there is actually some depth. I finally hear something resembling the sound I hear from the Vienna live in Carnegie Hall. Worth it? Well, yes, until you hear a comparable Brahms 4th in better sound--the Reiner/Royal Philharmonic, the old Walter/Columbia (actually on SACD), and the Sanderling/Dresden come to mind--but for me this is the recording and transfer to have.
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