Hans von Bülow made the witty remark that Johannes Brahms’ First Symphony, which was born only after the greatest trials, doubts and qualms, is actually “Beethoven’s Tenth”. But despite all the work’s apparent references to Beethoven’s symphonic creations, this is of course a misunderstanding. Brahms himself said that if one were to write a Symphony based on Beethoven, it would have to be “much different”. What this “difference” would consist of was discussed much later by Schoenberg, and only after the passage of time was Brahms recognized as a pioneer of modern music, i.e. due to such compositional practices as the development of all processes from one common germ cell, variations at all musical levels, cross- and back-references, and last but not least, a certain scorn for the notion of “divine inspiration”. Instead, he focused on making the material his own through a nearly academic process of examining the methods available for use.

This recording documents an encounter between tradition and modernity. The venerable Laeiszhalle in Hamburg is the scene for a Brahms recording in audiophile, high-resolution SACD technology with the historic Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, which has made such a furor in recent years with its recordings of the original versions of the Bruckner Symphonies. Under GMD Simone Young, the orchestra succeeds in developing new, current and exciting views of traditional repertoire.