Brahms Hungarian [Dance] Dances [No.] Nos. 1-21. . Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Walter Weller.

Decca digital (Full price) (LP) SXDL7585 (Cassette) KSXDC7585

This 1982 account from the RPO can hold its own with the two illustrious rivals listed above. The strings may not have the weight and depth of sonority that the Vienna orchestra commands nor are their clarinets so creamy or the wind so finely-tuned perhaps, but they still play with wonderful spirit, as if they enjoy every moment and as if their lives depended on it. And what excellent playing Walter Weller secures from every department of the orchestra.

As with the Abbado (DG) and Masur (Philips) versions, the orchestrations differ in some instances: in No. 4 Walter Weller opts for Schollum, not Paul Juon as favoured by his two rivals, in Nos. 5 and 6, those of Martin Schmeling, also favoured by Abbado rather than the Albert Parlow transcriptions preferred by Masur; in Nos. 7 and 8 Weller, like Masur, goes for Schollum rather than Hans Gal on the Abbado disc. I remember finding the Vienna account under Abbado exhilarating and thought it sparkled like a good champagne while the playing of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for Masur captivated by its warmth and charm. THe Decca recording is lively and bright, eminently truthful in timbre and with good, natural perspective. The performance, as I have said, is enormously spirited, and has sparkle: a different kind of champagne perhaps from the Vienna version but good nonetheless. All three recordings can be recommended: this most of all for its refreshing enthusiasm and dash. If pressed to a choice I would go for the Masur which wears a natural charm and offers splendidly civilized recorded sound but this is a thoroughly acceptable alternative.

RL