Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77

This Brahms 1976 recording is a gripping study in contrasts, pitting Karajan’s imperial, velvet architecture against the raw, intellectual nerve of a young Gidon Kremer. Refusing to melt into the Berlin Philharmonic’s legendary legato, Kremer injects the score with a jagged, unpredictable energy. This fascinating tug-of-war is perfectly encapsulated in his choice of the rhapsodic Kreisler cadenza - a bold compromise that strips away all Brahmsian academic heaviness to deliver an interpretation of thrilling, electric tension.