Symphony No. 3 in F major
Johannes Brahms
Recordings
Claudio Abbado / Berlin Philharmonic
1989Gil's 'slam dunk choice' and part of his recommended complete cycle. 'Wonderfully, beautifully phrased, but it's got great energy, great drama.' He calls the third movement 'perfect.'
Also Worth Hearing
Eugen Jochum / London Symphony
1976From another 'consistently good cycle.' Jochum was 'very flexible... very lush, very beautiful, just wonderfully phrased, and very exciting.'
Bruno Walter / Columbia Symphony
1960A 'very famous interpretation.' The third movement 'move[s] a little bit more,' and the whole symphony has 'energy and sparkle.'
Rudolf Kempe / Berlin Philharmonic
1960'Old school German Brahms, but very affectionate and great energy and warmth.'
Herbert von Karajan / Vienna Philharmonic
1960'A beautiful, beautiful recording' with 'great sound engineering.' Karajan is 'very focused... got great warmth and great beauty and drama.'
Guido Cantelli / Philharmonia
1955'A little bit maybe understated, but there's this beautiful glow about it, this naturalness.'
Wilhelm Furtwängler / Berlin Philharmonic
1954Gil acknowledges it's 'controversial' but he recommends it, finding it 'one of the most exciting... powerful Brahms thirds' with a 'beautiful' third movement.