I thought EG's comment particularly apt, when he discussed the original full-price issue of these recordings, as indicating that ''Bernstein is rather a Jekyll and Hyde character when it comes to Brahms''. Of course they were recorded live, which brings an added tension—no one could complain of lack of dynamism at the opening of the First—and considering this, the recording is remarkably good- well detailed and naturally balanced, with plenty of warmth in the strings (especially noticeable in the richly played slow movement of No. 4). But the idiosyncrasies are disturbing and I am not sure I could live with them. The finale of No. 1 has the famous melody on the strings taken very slowly and indulgently the opening of No. 3 is—to my ears—impossibly sluggish and heavy and so there is not enough contrast in the inner movements. I enjoyed the Second, given a straight, direct reading, with the feeling of glowing pastoral lyricism helped by the full textures. But the finest of the set is undoubtedly the Fourth: the very opening is simple and songful, yet there is plenty of vitality too, the third movement is rhythmically exhilarating and the great pass aglia has weight and momentum nicely in fulcrum: there is real Brahmsian gravitas here. Throughout this symphony there is a fine resonance to the lower strings and the orchestral playing is first class.
I like the acoustics of the Musikvereinsaal for recording: if the microphones are well placed, there is freshness of detail and the upper and lower ranges balance out believably, as here. But if I were buying all four Brahms symphonies together under one conductor I would choose Bruno Walter on CBS, although they are currently much more expensive and the analogue recording—very fine too—dates from the beginning of the 1960s.'