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Title: It would take a great Brahms Fourth to justify a 41 min. CD. This one doesn't.
Review: I hope Haitink will be gratified to find out that one reviewer at Amazon thinks his late, live Brahms Fourth is world class. Or should that be one reviewer in the whole world? This Fourth from London, in accord with the rest of Haitink's cycle, is mellow, relaxed, and gentle to the point of being shapeless. You could only love it if you demand that there be no interpretatoin at all. Haitink barely provides any. He sets a tempo, balances the chords, keeps the melodies sweet, and that's that. Is the Brahms Fourth heroic, tragic, melancholy, triumphant, or all of these by turns? You'd never know from this placid performance.
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