Johannes Brahms' detractors consider his music phlegmatic as evidenced by dull themes, thick textures, and turgid tempos. Unfortunately for
Brahms' lovers, this recording does a lot to bolster those claims. Originally released by Berlin Classics in 1976, this performance is best described as monotonous. Though she tends to blur difficult passages with injudicious use of the sustain pedal, pianist
Cécile Ousset seems able to handle most of the notes, but she's clearly over her head in making music of them. She slams, bangs, bashes, and all but beats the piano, but her phrasing is prosaic, her crescendos exaggerated, and her climaxes forced. And
Kurt Masur, a tried and true German conductor who should have known better, goes along with
Ousset, supporting her without challenging her, and lets the Leipzig orchestra get away with far less than its best effort. Captured in hard, dull stereo sound, this disc does no one associated with it any favors -- particularly
Brahms.