Johannes Brahms Cycle: Symphonies Nos. 1-4, Violin Concerto; Piano Concertos Nos. 1-2; Academic Festival Overture; Tragic Overture; Haydn Variations —The Cleveland Orchestra/Franz Welser-Möst; Julia Fischer, violin; Yefim Bronfman, piano (Belvedere 8005 DVD)
Robert Conrad, WCLV Co-Founder:
These recordings—on DVD and Blu-Ray—were two years and two continents in the making. With the assistance of WVIZ/PBS ideastream, The Cleveland Orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Möst present six and a half hours of the great music of Johannes Brahms, all his major orchestral works. Included are the four Symphonies, plus the two Piano Concertos with Yefim Bronfman, the Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer, the Tragic and Academic Festival Overtures, and the Haydn Variations. The First Symphony was recorded on tour in Royal Albert Hall, London in 2014. The Second and Third Symphonies were performed in the Musikverein in Vienna, and all the other works were captured in Severance Hall. Included are insightful interviews with the two soloists and Mr. Welser-Möst, and we’ll let you in on a little secret: the off-screen and unheard interviewer pitching questions to the musicians is none other than WCLV Program Director, Bill O’Connell.
Featured Fri 1/6, Wed 1/18, Fri 1/27