Brahms

Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.
Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers. Embedded within his meticulous structures, however, are deeply romantic motifs.

Brahms
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3
Symphony No. 4
Serenade No. 1
Serenade No. 2
Double Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 2
Tragic Overture
Haydn Variations
Gesang Der Parzen
Hungarian Dance No. 1
Academic Festival Overture
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
Live broadcast recordings, 1948
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BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1
BRAHMS Tragic Overture
Live broadcast recordings, 1948
Total duration: 1hr 59:03
Vladimir Horowitz, piano
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
BRAHMS Double Concerto
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 - Minuets
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture
BRAHMS Hungarian Dance No. 1
BRAHMS Liebeslieder Waltzes
Live broadcast recordings, 1948
Total duration: 1hr 59:54
Mischa Mischakoff, violin
Frank Miller, cello
Arthur Balsam, piano
Joseph Kahn, piano
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
BRAHMS Haydn Variations
BRAHMS Gesang der Parzen
Live broadcast recordings, 1948
Total duration: 1hr 59:10
Robert Shaw Chorale
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
BRAHMS Tragic Overture
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
Recorded live in 1945
Total duration: 52:28
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini
BRAHMS
Academic Festival Overture
Gesang der Parzen
Haydn Variations
Hungarian Dances
Tragic Overture
Live and studio recordings, 1948-53
Total duration: 64:12
Robert Shaw Chorale
NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Arturo Toscanini