Brahms: 1. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Stanisław Skrowaczewski 

Brahms, ever the perfectionist, struggled with this colossal symphony for at least a dozen years. the final product was a monumental masterpiece of unequaled beauty and majesty. The final few minutes of the Andante with the solo violin represent to me the most beautiful music Brahms ever wrote. This is one of the great performances which rank up there with Bernstein and Von Karajan.

39:00 The most beautiful melody ever. Heard it for the first time when playing bassoon in the National Youth Orchestra Port Elizabeth Gqeberha South Africa Mzansi January 1981. Bravo Brahms. Long long live.

I. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro 0:23 II. Andante sostenuto 18:40 III. Un poco Allegretto e grazioso 28:26 IV. Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro non troppo ma con brio 33:45

Brahms -one of the best composers ! Splendorous!

This Orchestra amazes me again and again. With Eliahu Inbal, with many others, now with Stanislav. Gimme more of Stan! And hr sinfony any time! These German Musicians just radiate that deep humanism, that love of humanity, which Brahms and co incarnated in their works.

bravo , magnifico

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski! OMG I remember hearing that name when I was growing up in the 60's and being introduced to classical music! One of the very few conductors around today from that golden era, good for him to keep going at his advanced age but I guess that's the way with most musicians (singers excepted for obvious reasons)

This was the first symphony I ever heard played by a major orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra, and though I was very young at the time the memory of that occasion has stayed with me for over 50 years. Though my taste has moved more into the 20th c. period , Brahms still remains a firm favourite,especially symphonies 1 and 3.

Bravo!! Truly one of the most outstanding performances of the Brahms 1st. It is just thrilling to watch Stanisław Skrowaczewski at almost 90 years of age direct this performance. It is even more wonderful that at his age he is able to sustain such an exceptional level of achievement, not to mention the outstanding Frankfort Radio Symphony at his command. Just a sheer delight!

May the Maestro rest in peace. October 3, 1923 - February 21, 2017,

This is monumental!

It's amazing how you can notice the personality of a composer just by listening his works...

Czapki z głów! Oto Brahms, całymi tygodniami tego słucham i nie mogę przestać, jestem uzależniony.

A very beautiful symphony !!!

Excellent version! Not only does Skrowaczewski play the repeat of the exposition in the first movement, he also follows Brahms's indications scrupulously: a forte is not to be confused with a fortissimo, the crescendi are started where they should, without accelerando etc...One of the best versions I've heard!

Some of the most achingly beautiful, wonderfull horn writing ever is contained in Brahms's 4 symphonies. I will never not be touched and deeply moved by the brass and wind writing in general in the finale of this symphony.

MAESTRO STAN HAS TOUCHED ALL OF US AND ETERNITY WITH SEVENTY DECADES OF GREAT RECORDING AND CONCERTS. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DID IN MINNESOTA. SEEK THE INFINITE IN THE MYSTIC ADORATION OF MUSIC.

The Best " Brahms" First Symphony ever heard ! Braavoooo !! Danke.

Extraordinary conductor and orchestra! What an inspiration!

Musica potente e travolgente ed il Maestro che la dirige è sorprendente!

Probably the best Version i heard of Brahms 1, and the best on youtube BY FAR!

A great orchestra - a great conductor - a great symphony by a great master: who could ask for more?

I love Brahms💗I adore Brahms and this gloryos simphony💙💙💙Great performance,braaaaavo maestro Scrowatzensky,braaaaavo Orchestra💙💙💙

89 years old and still going strong!!! Bravo. I wonder how many times he has conducted this work?

1000 Dank. Brahms' Erste ist und bleibt mein Favorit !!!!

39:00 My favorite part

Absolutely wonderful performance of Brahms First. Thank you orchestra and thanks to Brahms also.

The build up from 49:50 to the climax between 50:37-51:30 and to the epic end...WOW just WOW!

Fenomenale !!! Fantastic !!!

Bravissima~Meisterdirigent!!es grosste spielt!Höchstepunkt!! 대단히 훌륭해~대지휘자!영혼의 깊이가 느껴지는 숭고한 연주

Beethoven penned more symphonies,Mozart dashed off more piano concertos, and Schubert touched us deeply with many more songs,but nobody touched your soul more than Brahms. He reveals more to my inner being than any other composer . A grand performance by an elderly conductor leading a marvelous group playing a symphony that thrills me whenever I hear it. Thanks for the upload,it made my day and then some!

BRAVO BRAVO

This orchestra has to be the tops! Certainly my favourite youtube viewing. Love to see them live, and get the full experience of orchestral excellence.

For a while there, YT had to remove it for some reason...only to bring it back, thankfully...because it is not easy to find even a decent performance of this fantastic symphony...I'm very happy, and grateful...that it's back...and the applause...that's practically the best part...THANK YOU!!!...

I. Un poco sostenuto - Allegro 0:23 II. Andante sostenuto 18:40 III. Un poco Allegretto e grazioso 28:26 IV. Adagio - Piu Andante - Allegro non troppo ma con brio 33:45

An old man doing an amazing great job... And not only a job. Great art!

Soy administradora de la Sinfónica de Galicia, tengo 86 años y bivro con la música celecta, gracias viva la música.

Great to see the maestro still hasn't lost his touch. He conducted here in Canada fro many years and always with that wonderfully small baton!

A Brahms First as I've never heard it before! Mysterious, craggy, tense, even threatening. Even the normally serene third movement becomes disquieting. And when the clouds finally disperse (36:33) and the full scene is revealed in all its glory (39:00), the struggle continues; there are more obstacles to overcome, until the final declaration of victory (50:38). Skrowaczewski's great and singular interpretation of this masterwork has forced me to consider it as I never had before: as something other than "absolute music". It seems to project the scope and intensity of the emotions Brahms probably experienced during its lengthy gestation; the symphony that took so much of his life to complete may describe nothing less than that - life.

Favorite symphony and symphony intro.

I like the melodious violin music !!!♡♥♡♥♡♥☆★

Gorgeous!! A great tempo for the last movement. Bravo to the horns and woodwinds!!

Obrigado amigos e amigas musicistas! Gratidão a todos e muitas felicidades!

I honestly believed that I would never find that definitive performance...something akin to the one I'd heard long, long ago...and then it was Bernstein...but no.... And then...I'd found it in this most splendid upload...and I thought I'd wait until it at least near over, before I would venture to say anything, though I don't think that, in this case...I could have possibly spoken in haste.... What a performance...and how I would love to meet this conductor...Thank You!!....

I'm so glad this was recorded. I love this performance and while I certainly appreciate the exacting tempos of other performances(even of Skrowaczewski albums), this one brought this piece to life for me.

Wonderful - thank you

Majestätische und zugleich tiefempfundene Aufführung dieses perfekt komponierten Meisterwerks im relativ langsamen Tempo. Der geniale Dirigent leitet das ausgezeichnete Orchester echt künstlerisch. Einfach wunderbar!

Great performance! Thanks for sharing it!

Sublime - thank you.

Una excelente dirección. Nos quedará para el recuerdo. 💕

Wonderful-thank you.

R.I.P. to a great maestro!

Que interpretación y ejecución de la Sinfonía, siempre estará entre mis preferidas.

Spectacular Performance and Brilliant Conductor and Orchestra as Well Bravo !!!!!

There is no doubt, at least in this instance, where the applause is, in a certain way...the best part of the whole thing.... That in this particular performance...the applause is so much deserved, and then some....THANK YOU!!!....

Probably my favourite symphony, thanks for the upload!!

Simply awesome...

Great Performance! Bravo!

Superb!

I had the pleasure to play this great symphony as a non-professional in a semi-professional, semi-non-professional orchestra. It was a great experience and for me it's one of the greatest symphonies I've ever heard. Unfortunately the concert couldn't take place open air like it should, because of the rain, but the presentation in the church was also very nice.

also there is the first introduction to the composition and then second familiarity of multiple versions and the listeners discernment and preference of the work that makes any new exposure to new works that returns the listener to the first excitement of first listening. That is why this is why I come back to this channel. Also the technical staff are the best. I don't know what they do or how they do it but there is no better. Audio and visual production. Those audio and visual technicians tell the story of the music brilliantly. Without them, nothing

Since the lockdown, I have discovered RU-vid and with it wonderful recordings by 'Stan the Man.' as he was known in Manchester. My mind is full of many wonderful performances the Halle particularly the symphonies Bruckner. His final visit to the Halle in Manchester included a performance of Brahm's 4. Watching this I see his trademark. The score in front of him but unopened.

Great version, and I particularly loved watching the conductor

Wonderful! Skrowaczewski shines a light into the little crevices of sound that make this symphony such a triumph, while holding on to the bigger picture - an ability that he had in abundance and matures with age and experience.

What a remarkable performance and video. As a young violinist the Brahms First was my introduction to the soul-sustaining power of classical music, and I am forever grateful for it. By the way, it looks like the wonderful 1st oboe has put on a few pounds. This recording of the 1st is one of the finest in existence.

Une interprétation absolument exceptionnelle de cette Symphonie des Symphonies. L'écoute de cette version fût un moment de grâce absolue.

August 2020, checking in. Great great work here, TY!

Bravissima! The music is really astonishing!

Wonderful sinfonie.

Very good performance!,,,

I simply adore this old man. Bravo !!

I keep coming back to this performance. Great orchestra and a conductor from the old school-(probably the last) - a little Bruno Walter ,some Szell but still unique and so faithful to the composers markings. The violin solo end of second movement is... SUBLIME!

Amazingly beautiful

Great performance !

Bravo! I wasn't aware of how famous and fantastic a conductor Skrowaczewski was until he conducted the Minnesota Orchestra musicians during the recent lockout. Bravo to them for not caving in to the corporate lockout. They're still sounding fantastic, by the way. I have to admit, this orchestra is just as great as Minnesota's. I have to buy a recording of this! I'm going to look for other recordings of this conductor's also.

¡maravilloso!

This is so beautiful

Those bow changes from the concertmaster beginning at 28:00 are almost imperceptible - bravo!! As far as i could tell, Stan never opened the score. Pretty good memory. I wonder how many times he conducted this.

I almost moved to tears

A second listening and paying attention to the phrasing made me appreciate the conductor's interpretation and the performance even more. Fresh and refreshing.

THIS VERSION TAKES ME MAGNIFICENTLY TO ANOTHER GALAXY FROM WHICHI I WOULD NEVER RETURN TO OUR CRAZY WORLD- UP THERE I AM SORROUNDED BY ALL THE GODS OF THE OLYMPUS!!! ANA

Fantastic perfomance! :)

I have watched the Maestro live with Halle Orchestra in Sheiffeld so many times. he is a real giant with the German repretoire

What energy and determination !!!!

bravo maestro.

beau à en pleurer,admiration profonde

RIP Maestro Stan!

Very old school. They don't come like this anymore

Quite riveting. A very good performance indeed.

Super !

I had the pleasure to see Skrowaczewski conduct several times in the 1980s and 90s. Mostly Bruckner. Particularly unforgettable was a performance of Bruckner 3 with the New England Conservatory orchestra. I've never seen a conductor who seemed so thoroughly integrated with the music. I know he was a very well-regarded conductor for a long time, but even so I'm not sure he's as appreciated as he should be. And a real stand-up guy, supporting his old Minnesota Orchestra during the disgraceful lockout a decade ago (as this performance was happening, I believe).

Lindíssima!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soul shocking in the 4th movement! Masterpiece!

このブラームスの１番の演奏はとても素晴らしい。聞き応えある作品です。

For those who need to get to the music, it's: 00:24 Andante: 18:43

Best interpretation

grandios!

This Old Master have more vitality than Me!

The beauty

I love the three B´s of music reBolution... Bach, Beethoven and Brahms!