Literally Historically Informed Brahms Third

Yesterday I heard Brahms 3rd on the radio. It sounded like an excellent performance, although I couldn't concentrate on it for various reasons. Also, the sound seemed very good.

Afterwards I really wanted to hear who the performers were. Turns out it was conducted by Frederick Stock, with the Chicago symphony orchestra in 1940.

The NPR announcer also said that Stock played the violin in this piece in an orchestra conducted by the composer himself.

Does anyone have any comments on this recording?

I haven't heard it yet, but I'm intrigued. Incidentally there have been a number of Brahms recordings by performers who knew him: Ilona Eibenschütz for one. And I think the very young Arthur Rubinstein met the composer.

Max Fiedler's performances are known to be those of a conductor who waspart of Brahms' inner circle. (Mengelberg's were more indirectly

says...

Of course, both Weingartner and Monteux received favorable feedback from the great composer about their performances of his work. (Monteux as quartettist.)

Paul Goldstein

I believe that this was the Stock performance of the Brahms 3rd with the CSO that's part of the CSO's 12 disk special centennary set that came out in 1990. It still seems to be available from the CSO's website.

Stanley (a long, long, long time lurker)

Care to provide a source for that thought?

Rubinstein meeting Brahms seems unlikely. Rubinstein was very young when Brahms was a dieing old man. In addition, Rubinstein was hardly a prodigy, so why would he have gotten a chance to meet him?

Also, from my rather dim memory, there was no mention of meeting Brahms in Rubinstein's autobiography. If I had met Brahms, it surely would appear in my autobiography.

What radio station is this that plays recordings from 1940? Was it on a special historical recording show, or just played as part of the normal schedule?

Dave Cook

Thanks for the reminder; I had forgotten it was in there! Maybe I'll cue it up for listening later this evening.

It turns out I was thinking of Monteux!

I heard this on WFMT in Chicago. It was part of a regular program hosted by Don Tait, and produced by WFMT, 'Chicago Symphony Retrospective,' a program that has filled in for the CSO concert broadcasts, after the CSO lost funding for these broadcasts. It seems that some public radio stations in the U.S. have picked up the program.

Vermont Public Radio.