Alsop's Brahms brings out the details

When she takes the helm of the Baltimore Symphony for the 2007-2008 season, Marin Alsop will make history as the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Her new post follows on her success in the U.K. as principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony, a position she's held since 2002. In addition to her full-time conducting duties, Alsop works with many other ensembles including the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

For the past few years, Naxos Records has been documenting that relationship in a cycle of the Brahms symphonies. The latest release in that series is this highly anticipated recording of the Third Symphony. Many music scholars consider this to be Brahms' most elusive work, yet conductor Marin Alsop offers an incredibly confident and expressive interpretation.

Brahms put off writing symphonies because he feared being compared to Beethoven. Much to his relief, the comparisons turned out to be quite positive! When his First Symphony finally appeared, it was hailed as "Beethoven's Tenth." His Second Symphony was ranked with Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony. Renowned conductor Hans Richter declared the Third Symphony the composer's greatest, dubbing it "Brahms' 'Eroica.'"

Like Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony, Brahms' Symphony No. 3 is electrified with adventurous rhythms, beautiful melodies, and lush harmonies. What makes this performance stand out is Marin Alsop's deliberately slow, yet powerful tempo, which enhances the emotional impact. Bold orchestral chords open the first movement, setting the course for the first theme. This dynamic symphony oozes with expressive energy, yet it also has its pastoral side. After Brahms gave the score to his longtime friend, Clara Schumann, as a birthday gift, she noted that it conjured up images of a chapel in a wood where streams bubbled peacefully and the beetles and gnats played along. When the simpler second theme enters, it would be easy for the performance to get bogged down, yet the vitality of this movement remains strong under Marin Alsop's baton.

The heart of the Third Symphony is its third movement. Marin Alsop gives this Poco Allegro a warm reading, asking the strings to sway gently through the melody, which in turn sweeps the listener into a wistful mood of nostalgia. That sense of longing is amplified when the solo horn enters mid-way through the movement.

Brahms didn't compose his First Symphony until he was 43 years old. He tested the waters prior to that with his Variations on a Theme by Haydn, based on the St. Antoni Chorale. This is the lighter side of Brahms, giving us a preview of what was yet to come in his symphonic writing. It's also a wonderful contrast to his Third Symphony. Alsop once again takes command of the rhythm, ensuring that each variation matches the mood the composer intended. The short, dance-like sections are my favorite. The second and fifth variations could easily pass as a couple of the Hungarian Dances Brahms wrote several years earlier.

When making a recording, Marin Alsop strives to get every detail right, and with modern technology that's an achievable goal. What's far more important to her, and more difficult to master on a recording, is an emotional impact. With the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Marin Alsop has created not only a technically superb recording, but one that will move the listener to feel the many moods of Brahms, ranging from carefree to heroic.

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