The Berlin Philharmonic Brass are one of the more recorded of the symphonic brass sections from one of the world’s great orchestras, producing a discerning record of baroque consorts and transcriptions in 1982 (DG, 5/83 – nla). Then, two years later, five members of the group joined Canadian Brass in an unsatisfactory stylistic hybrid (Sony Classical – nla). Here they are again in a programme of a similar kind (albeit with two contemporary German works) though one which does little to demonstrate the unique qualities of ensemble, epic scale and glowing timbre which mark this section out. Precision in matters of note lengths and intonation alone seems uncharacteristically slack in the Suite from Purcell’s Abdelazer; it seems here and elsewhere that a common view to articulation has not been sought and that simple questions of style have barely been addressed (as they were, say, in London Brass’s fine “Gabrieli in Venice” disc for ASV). There is, however, a mellow warmth in the tender Minuet and one cannot help but admire the dexterity of Konradin Groth’s shimmering rotary-valve piccolo trumpet in Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba”. The overall effect of the early material tends to be leaden in places, even if one considers that brass needs time to ‘sound’. Again, this has less to do with tempo than a restricted approach to articulation, exemplified in the rather dull Lassus piece for a quartet of trombones.
Henze’s Sonata per otto ottoni from 1983 is much more to their taste, a piece based on Albinoni’s Op. 4 No. 11 and rejuvenated by subtle melodic and rhythmic dialogues, dissonant paraphrases of the original but somehow entirely in keeping. In this work, and the virtuosic Siebert, we hear something of Berlin Philharmonic Brass at their best. It’s just about worth waiting for but earlier reservations are too plentiful to make for anything but a muted recommendation.'