London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink - Brahms: Symphony No. 4 (2005)

Loaded with German Romanticism and including variations on a Bach cantata, Brahms final symphony is a remarkable example of his mastery of symphonic composition. A rich, warm work that builds on a sense of movement and intensity right up to the final bars. This release also represents the completion of Bernard Haitink's celebrated LSO Live Brahms cycle that has included the symphonies, Double Concerto, Tragic Overture and Serenade No 2.

'Each of the four movements is firmly and satisfyingly shaped, detail and phrasing always nicely judged. Haitink finds more light and shade than many interpreters do, effectively pointing the expressive and textural extremes ... the orchestra plays superbly for him throughout. Though it's best to hear the disc on an SACD system, the sound is also excellent on a standard two-channel CD player.' -- BBC Music Magazine