Concertgebouworkest - Brahms’ Symfonieën nr. 2 en 4

Sir John Eliot Gardiner

John Eliot Gardiner and the Concertgebouw Orchestra close their Brahms cycle on a grand note, with all four symphonies spread over two evenings in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Luxembourg. The general public initially came to know John Eliot Gardiner as a conductor of baroque music performed on period instruments. But the vision developed by the Briton soon reached far beyond the eighteenth century. In this way he became a 'specialist all-rounder', making him the right man for Brahms' symphonies.

Symphony No. 2 and 4

However romantic it may be, it is always audible with Brahms that he places himself in a long tradition. For example, Brahms' vibrant Second Symphony is inevitably reminiscent of Beethoven's 'Pastorale'. But listen to the finale of Brahms's Fourth : a glowing series of symphonic variations. Completely Brahms, but in the baroque passacaglia form, after Bach – not coincidentally also Gardiner's first and eternal love. Music that transcends the ages.