Johannes Brahms|Symphonies 1 & 2

The Four Symphonies by Johannes Brahms belong in the repertoire of every major symphony orchestra – and the Staatsorchester Frankfurt is no exception. This music is, in the words of the conductor Howard Griffiths, ‘truly amazing and has a lot to tell us about German Classicism and Romanticism. German orchestras in particular should address this music, because that’s where our home is.’ For the first two symphonies by Brahms, Griffiths went searching for clues and struck it rich with Fritz Steinbach (1855–1916); the conductor and Brahms devotee was Hofkapellmeister in Meiningen, performed the symphonies with enthusiasm, and even made notations that are available in printed form. From this unique source, Griffiths gained valuable insights into the structure of Johannes Brahms’ symphonic works, who considered Steinbach to be the best interpreter of his music. Howard Griffiths studied and implemented all of Steinbach’s comments, and performs here with the Staatsorchester Frankfurt according to these traces. Griffiths juggles brilliantly with both tempi and phrasing and shows to what extent Brahms was able to liberate himself from overwhelming role models such as Ludwig van Beethoven: ‘His symphonies in particular are able to sound quite light. And they have so many dramatic and surprising moments.