Brahms-Complete Symphonies (SWR RSO/Norrington) (2005) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Classical	Main Menu Audio & Animation Introduction Booklet Audio-Only Track-CD References
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	167:58 (Case: 240)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Barrie Gavin
Studio Distributor	Haenssler Classic Select Audio-Visual Distrib	Starring	None Given
Case	PUSH-1 (Opaque)
RPI	?	Music	Johannes Brahms

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Audio Dolby Digital 5.0 (448Kb/s) Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Brahms came a little late to composing symphonies. The First was first performed in 1876 when he was 43 and it was his Opus 68. The delay has been attributed to the expectations that he must have felt from the intense praise heaped on him in his early career by such figures as Robert Schumann, his friend and mentor. It would also be due in no small part to the extent of his self-criticism, which led to many works being abandoned or destroyed as they did not live up to the expectations he had of himself. The happy result of this is that nearly all of his published works are of a high standard, and his symphonies are no exception to that rule.

    The performances of the four symphonies on this disc are performed by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the English conductor Sir Roger Norrington. Norrington is of the historically informed performance school. However this does not lead to an insistence on using period instruments, but seems to be more towards respecting the performance practices of the period in which the works were written. For example here he positions the players in the locations that they would have been in Brahms' own time, and uses the same ratio of players in different groups that the composer would have heard. He has also looked at the notations in the score and applied the interpretation that would have held in the 19th century, not the one today which in some cases is quite different. These matters of interpretation are discussed in some detail in the video introductions to each symphony, but they can be heard in the recorded balance of the sound, which often brings out details not normally heard in audio-only recordings of the works, at least in my experience.

    As a result, the symphonies do not always sound as muddy and thick-textured as they often do on record. This set is more of a light Brahms than the heavy Germanic Brahms of tradition.

    The recording was done in a concert hall but without an audience. This allows the cameras to be closer to the orchestra than would have been possible during a live performance.

    All of the performances are very good, with the First and Fourth being standouts. The Second suffers slightly from slower tempi in the first movement than I am used to hearing. However that is a minor quibble. This is an excellent set and well-worth investing in.

Video

    Each work is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The video is in NTSC format.

    The usual lack of sharpness is evident when the video is blown up to a large screen size, but generally speaking the video quality is better than I had expected. I was particularly surprised to see a lot less aliasing than I feared. While it does appear in mild doses, I had expected to see a lot of it on the straight lines of strings shown at various angles, but it does not work out to be that way.

    The lack of sharpness is not an issue in the close-up shots, but in wider angles it is very noticeable. Views of the entire orchestra are quite blurry in appearance. In close shots there is still a lack of fine detail. Colour is adequate, with reasonably solid blacks and whites. Flesh tones are approximately accurate but generally the colour lacks vividness. Similarly, shadow detail is good in close-up but not in wider shots.

    Being a video recording there are no film artefacts. Apart from the occasional mild aliasing there is some minimal Gibb Effect, but no serious compression artefacts to distract from the content.

    Subtitles are not required for the symphonies. There are titles for each movement burned into the video stream.

    The disc is dual-layered, with no layer change during any of the works.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Two audio tracks are provided. The case and menu state that the surround track is Dolby Digital 5.1. However my equipment could not detect any LFE channel on this disc, that is the surround track appears to be 5.0. The other track is Dolby Digital 2.0.

    On the surround track the listener is placed somewhere towards the front of an imaginary audience. The mix is very much towards the front speakers. The rear speakers have a lower volume level of much the same audio as the front channels, but at no time did I hear any sound that could be placed in the rear sound field. The mix though is very good, giving the impression of an orchestra laid out in front of me. The balance is much like a CD recording, though the brass sometimes tends to be fierce. The audio is warm and while not as rich as CD is very good indeed.

    The stereo track is much the same as the surround track in terms of its sonic qualities. However the soundstage collapses to an extent and is not as forward-sounding as the 5.0 version.

    I did not detect any issues with audio sync.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    The main menu has a brief snippet from one of the performances, with some background animation.

Introductions by Sir Roger Norrington (59:55)

    Each symphony has an introduction in the form of an interview with the conductor by an unseen interviewer. The introductions run 18:34, 18:35, 7:43 and 15:03 respectively. Norrington discusses the historical context of each work, what he feels Brahms had in mind when composing them and the extent to which he uses performing practices of the time. Optional subtitles are provided, as is a German language dubbed soundtrack.

Booklet

    A thin booklet with a biography of Norrington, background to the orchestra and a brief written introduction by the conductor, in German and English.

CD References

    A selection of audio-only excerpts from 17 recordings made by Norrington for the Hänssler Classic label.

    There appears to be no difference between the local release and those in other regions.

    An excellent set of the Brahms symphonies, quite a winner in many respects.

    The video quality is above average.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    Some useful extra material.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall