Felix Delbrueck wrote:

>What gave you the 'revelation'? Was it a particular performance?

I think it might have been the first symphony or the first piano concerto,
which I don't think is as bad as all that.  A romantic concerto where the
piano has a less despotic role.  I like it.  Not the piece that the second
is obviously, but I think Rachmaninov has a nerve for berating anyone for
playing it, when he can get away with writing a load of pants in HIS first
piano concerto.

The symphonies I have on RCA cheapie.  The ones with the maps on the front.
It is Kurt Sanderling conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden or whatever.
MILES better than Herb's, IMO.

>Brahms'or Wagner's transitions and developments sound mechanical rather
>than organic,

I don't actually know of any composer who writes more organically than
Brahms.  One of the problems I found when listening to Brahms was the
inability to detect the structure, BECAUSE it's so organic.

David Stewart
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