Brahms: The Symphonies - Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Riccardo Chailly

One of the world's great conductors Riccardo Chailly turns his attention to Brahms' symphonies. John Suchet's Album of the Week, 7 October 2013.

Following his 2011 landmark Beethoven symphonic cycle, Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra return with new recordings of the complete Brahms symphonies as well as other orchestral works including overtures and the Haydn Variations.

The collection also features world premieres of two orchestrated piano intermezzi, and the nine Liebeslieder waltzes, the original first performance version of the Andante from Symphony No. 1 and the even rarer revised opening of the Fourth Symphony.

Since recording the Brahms symphonies 25 years ago, Chailly's approach is radically rethought, re-examining the scores and the recorded interpretations of an earlier generation of conductors to bring a fresh, new and dramatic reading.