Johannes Brahms - Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 (Kent Nagano)

Information

Composer: Johannes Brahms

• Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
• Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Kent Nagano, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: BIS

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Recently honored with the prestigious Brahms Prize from the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society, Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra—under his direction from 2015 to 2025—present live concert recordings of Brahms’s Third and Fourth Symphonies. The deeply introspective Third Symphony, often considered Brahms’s most personal, closes each movement quietly and reflects a mature contemplation of life and mortality. In contrast, the Fourth Symphony, with its classical structure and baroque-inspired chaconne finale, stands as Brahms’s final statement in the symphonic form. Often described as elegiac and autumnal, it marks the culmination of his symphonic journey.

Kent Nagano (b. 1951) is a highly respected conductor known for his work in both opera and orchestral music. He gained early acclaim in 1984 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and as assistant to Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise. He later served as Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988–1998), the Hallé Orchestra (1991–2000), and became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003. Since 2015, he has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Hamburg Philharmonic. From 2006 to 2020, he led the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, becoming its Conductor Emeritus in 2021.

High Resolution 24-bit / 48 kHz