COMPOSERS: Brahms
LABELS: Philips Solo
WORKS: Ein deutsches Requiem
PERFORMER: Gundula Janowitz (soprano), Tom Krause (baritone); Vienna State Opera Concert Chorus, Vienna PO/Bernard Haitink
CATALOGUE NO: 446 581-2 (1980)
This 1980 performance is compromised by Haitink’s ponderous tempi and fuzzy sound. The snail’s pace at which the opening movement progresses is a portent. The approach robs the work of life – and even a Requiem has to have that. The choir, meanwhile, might be singing behind a curtain, while the orchestra too is pushed into the background. Tom Krause is eloquent, but Gundula Janowitz appears insecure and takes too many breaths, though at the tempo Haitink sets, who can blame her? George Hall
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
This 1980 performance is compromised by Haitink’s ponderous tempi and fuzzy sound. The snail’s pace at which the opening movement progresses is a portent. The approach robs the work of life – and even a Requiem has to have that. The choir, meanwhile, might be singing behind a curtain, while the orchestra too is pushed into the background. Tom Krause is eloquent, but Gundula Janowitz appears insecure and takes too many breaths, though at the tempo Haitink sets, who can blame her? George Hall
Our rating
1
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:33 pm