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Robin Ticciati & SCO - Brahms: The Symphonies - The Times

The last time a Brahms symphony set entered my house was a year ago. It came in the form of six vinyl discs - an audiophile's delight - and weighed seemingly as much as a baby elephant. The music making of Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic was warmly romantic and incisive. But some excess weight remained, at least compared with this new contender from Rattle's former protégé Robin Ticciati, right, making his last recording as principal conductor of the wonderful Scottish Chamber Orchestra (he has been with them for nine years).

The key to the new set's special qualities lies in the orchestra's middle name, "chamber". Fifty-seven musicians are featured in total, although the dancing clarity of Ticciati's interpretations isn't solely a matter of numbers. Close attention to phrasings, lithe rhythms and individual instrumental finesse play their part. So does Ticciati's choice of small-bore horns and trombones from the late 19th century, earthier in tone than their modern equivalents. More "period" details arrive with the string players' use of portamento, gently slithering up and down towards selected notes. This might have been an irritating mannerism; to me, it felt natural and organic.

Modest forces don't mean any weakening of power in these four giant masterpieces. Timpani thwacks opening the First Symphony's slow introduction hit the ears like thunderbolts. At the same time Ticciati shapes the Fourth Symphony's andante as a spacious meditation, as powerful in its own way as the inexorable drive of the finale's passacaglia.

As usual with Linn, the recording enhances the musical splendours. Ticciati's team spent two weeks in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, working in studio conditions - time and care very well spent, for this is a set that sweeps aside recent rivals, brilliantly illuminating Brahms's inner textures and making the familiar new.

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The Times
23 March 2018