Brahms - Symphony 1 [Chailly-Concertgebouw Orchestra]
And yet another Brahms disc, three in a row, as far as favourite Composers go, it's definitely Beethoven No1, and Schubert No2, and then Chopin No3, before Brahms comes in fourth, but the frequency of entries in my Blog means that Brahms leapfrogs them all into first, maybe i need re-assess how important Brahms really is, his First Symphony is one of the earliest things i heard from him, and i fell in love with it immediately, those opening timpani blows always get me, what a wonderful way to start a Symphony, there's a lovely darkness there in its C Minor, Brahms's best Symphony by far, i listened to this in the park on the way home from Church.
Riccardo Chailly is Italian and now 59, he was the Chief Conductor at the Concertbouw for 16 years [1988-2004], and he recorded this in 1987 before his appointment, he made a cycle of these Symphonies at the same time, each front cover has Chailly in a similar pose [photography by Paul Huth],
