Zubin Mehta Conducts Brahms

When Sony Classical’s new complete Brahms cycle with Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic was first released, the Baltimore Sun reviewer referred to “a marriage of passion … performances fine enough to recommend to any listener who wants his Brahms in a single collection. The Symphony No. 1 receives a heroic, turbulent performance in which Mehta and the fine orchestra of which he was long ago appointed music-director-for-life keep raising the thermostat until – in the final movement – they all but blow the roof off. The Symphony No. 2, which receives a similarly passionate performance, may be even better.” Nos. 3 and 4, the reviewer goes on to say, are also “beautiful”. This major new reissue also contains the Haydn Variations and Tragic Overture.