Classic FM Magazine

SDG 703 - Brahms Symphony 2 (27 May 2009)

**** [4 stars]

Stutzmann is a wonder here. There is something of a dark self-knowledge in her powerful, deep, vibrato-free register as she contemplates wild nature through Goethe's forlorn poem. The Monteverdi Choir sounds fresh and youthful in the Schubert. The ORR radiates warmth in Brahms' Second. The Adagio is a little heavy, but the Allegretto has moving innocence and the finale a combination of relief and rejoicing under Gardner.