Sir Georg Solti is a fine Brahms interpreter and I have greatly admired many of his performances; but I think this version of the E minor considerably less successful. There are two places where I mainly think him less good than the best of his rivals. That part of the finale which is usually taken more slowly than the rest (and often very much so) has little justification for being so treated, other than given a natural relaxation. The only one of these conductors who keeps the movement going is Carlos Kleiber on DG. The point is emphasized if you compare the timings of this movement from the three conductors (Bernstein is also on DG) printed out on the boxes. Bernstein takes 11'35'' over it; Solti is considerably faster at 10'8''; but Kleiber takes only 9'12''. And that shorter time is accounted for by his treatment of the passage in question; and a difference of well over two minutes between Kleiber and Bernstein tells you a good deal about the approach of each. There is no hint of hurry from Kleiber or of other than complete naturalness in his interpretation. That slowing down often to almost inanition at the flute solo is surely a bad old habit that should be left to die its own death from heart failure!
My other complaint is more personal and will, I know, not be shared by all my readers—but I don't like a too slow tempo for the second movement. Beautiful as it is it can feel very long if taken too slowly; and it is marked andante moderato. (As so often with Brahms one doesn't quite know what the moderato implies but at any rate, it's an andante and not something slower.) I get tired of it at Bernstein's speed (12'41''), while at Kleiber's (11'19'') my interest never for a moment sags (and tempo is not the only aspect of his performance that holds my attention). Solti is I fear, slightly the slowest at 12'53''. Again, the differences are astonishing; and again, my preference is for Kleiber.
I shall not go into all the other splendid things I find in Kleiber's performance, from the warm and affectionate playing of the strings at the very start onwards, for they have already been sung in these ages by RO who was plainly as bowled over by the performance as I was. I fear that Solti does not equal Kleiber's perception in this symphony.'