J. Brahms Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3

The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained them to do the right things, and they responded with first-class accounts of these symphonies. While there are instances of less than crack ensemble, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter's approach to the music is kindly, caring, and wonderfully whole--sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should give this disc a listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but in Sony's new 20-bit remastering the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. --Ted Libbey