ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This beautiful 4-LP box set – amazingly, a still-sealed copy – from Columbia Masterworks (D4L 252, US pressing, label iteration unknown – presumably gray label, mono, booklet included) features Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra's magnificent Brahms Symphony cycle, made in the warm acoustics of American Legion Hall, Hollywood, California during the years 1959-60, still very much a landmark in the Brahms discography.

 

Walter brings a lifetime's wisdom and experience to these scores and the CSO were clearly inspired by their charismatic guest conductor, producing a beautifully burnished sound yet powerfully incisive when Brahms’s music demands it – the sound is warm and spacious.

 

This cycle was the winner of the Grand Prix du Disque.

 

The complete contents of the set then are:

 

Symphony No. 1 in C minor Op. 68

 

 

 

I – Un poco sostenuto; Allegro

 

 

14:00

II – Andante sostenuto

 

 

8:23

III – Un poco allegretto e grazioso

 

 

4:41

IV – Adagio; Allegro non troppo

 

 

16:48

(rec. 25 November 1959)

 

 

 

 

Symphony No. 2 in D Major Op. 73

 

 

I – Allegro non troppo

 

 

16:00

II – Adagio non troppo

 

 

10:15

III – Allegretto grazioso

 

 

5:31

I – Allegro con spirito

 

 

9:30

(rec. 11 January 1960)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tragic Overture, Op. 81

 

 

13:13

(rec. 23 January 1960)

 

 

 

 

Symphony No. 3 in F Major Op. 90

 

 

I—Allegro con brio

 

 

10:01

II—Andante

 

 

8:40

III—Poco allegretto

 

 

6:13

IV—Allegro

 

 

8:16

(rec. on 27 January 1960)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a

 

 

18:34

(rec. on 18 January 1960)

 

 

 

Symphony No. 4 in E minor Op. 98

 

 

 

I – Allegro non troppo

 

 

12:57

II – Andante moderato

 

 

11:50

III – Allegretto giocoso; Poco meno presto

 

 

6:26

IV – Allegro energico e passionato; piu allegro

 

 

11:20

(rec. 24 February 1959)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic Festival Overture Op. 80

 

 

9:53

(rec. 16 January 1960)

 

 

 

 

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Wrote the erudite authors of the ubiquitous Penguin Guide to Compact Discs & DVDs (2003/4 Edition):

 

“...[V]ery recommendable indeed. Walter's performance of the Second is wonderfully sympathetic, with an inevitability, a rightness which makes it hard to concentrate on the interpretation as such, so cogent is the musical argument. Walter's pacing of the Third is admirable, and the vigor and sense of joy which imbue the opening of the first movement dominate throughout... [Walter’s Fourth is]nspired...with the glorious slow movement ripely intense..., balanced by a vivacious exhilarating Scherzo... The result is thrillingly "live" from the first bar to the last. A remarkable achievement... The Tragic Overture has characteristic breadth and vigour"

 

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Incidentally, the striking cover photo of Bruno Walter was taken by Penn. A full-size booklet is included with this issue.

 

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

 

The condition of box is still-sealed box is near-MINT. Really there are no flaws to speak of and the box appears as new – overall, a lovely collector’s copy.

 

The condition of the booklet is MINT.

 

The condition of the 4 LPs is MINT. These are still-sealed, unplayed copies – ideal collector's copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

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