Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73 (Kurt Masur, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig)

From the Church of St. Nicolai, Leipzig, Germany
20 Years Peaceful Revolution - Leipzig commemorates the 9th of October 1989
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Conductor: Kurt Masur
Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
0:00 I. Allegro non troppo
16:15 II. Adagio non troppo
25:48 III. Allegretto grazioso
31:26 IV: Allegro con spirito
Watch the full concert here: • Kurt Masur and the Gew...
On 9 October 1989, 70,000 people staged a non-violent demonstration calling for more freedom and democracy in the GDR. Thanks to the claim “Peaceful Revolution”, initiated by Kurt Masur as one of six prominent citizens of Leipzig, everything proceeded peacefully. That evening, the Gewandhausorchester played under his baton Brahms’ Second Symphony at the St. Nicolas Church. The following regular "Monday Demonstrations", which came to be described as the “Peaceful Revolution”, became a major milestone on the way to open the Berlin Wall one month later on November the 9th in 1989 and paving the foundations for the reunification of the two German states.
Exactly 20 years later, the Gewandhausorchester and Kurt Masur commemorate the beginning of the German reunification by presenting the same symphony at the same location.

[@Jlouiseduffy]

Love this performance! Impeccably performed by this legendary orchestra and the late Kurt Mazur. To me this symphony evokes beauty, sweetness and sadness, along with a feeling of hope. Hearing it tonight was a welcome and needed oasis of calm peace, after all the challenges that 2020 has brought.

[@suesmith2183]

There's such an underlying sadness to this great great symphony - generally regarded as the most 'happy' of all the Brahms four symphonies. And this orchestra!! Have heard them three times now - twice in Musikverein, Vienna and once in their home - the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Maestro Mazur you are much missed. So many wonderful conductors have left us: Maazel, Kleiber, Solti, Tennstedt, Bernstein, Abbado...a long list.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

I agree. I've never seen this symphony as particularly "happy". Brahms was a very serious composer!

[@frankeffenberger9698]

I have always thought of this symphony as autumnal in character.

[@TheVaccumtube]

Mazur have special attachment to Brahms 2, his best performance I yet discovered recently. Warm rendition of melody lines throughout, fervent, enthusiastic finale. Brilliant performance worth praising at last years of his life.

[@kasha1932]

What a GREAT man Conductor Masur was!! Great as a musician and Great as a leader in his country! He is doing such a fine job here that I cannot find words that would be special enough to describe this very, very man! This orchestra is superb!! Thank you! Than You You Tube!

[@tortysoft]

So good to have such a great performance saved for ever. RIP,

[@petardundjerski2245]

What a royalty, what an incredible group of musicians. Thank you for posting.

[@lemenyves34]

Masur was just a great man. Look at the way he smiles.

[@stefanufer608]

A very fine performance - warmly lyrical and free of gimmicks. A worthy tribute to an underrated maestro.

[@Bielostotsky]

R.I.P. Maestro

[@gabrielepresby9120]

Nur schön. Morgen Abend darf ich diese Musik live hören, gespielt vom Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Ich freue mich sehr darauf.

[@romanitza24]

Brahms is my favourite composer, still the second symphony was the only one I couldn't quite "get"or "feel". For me it just would not sound like the "Brahms" I knew and so much liked. The first time this impression changed, was with a rendition by Bernstein and now this... What a jewel is this, such clarity! You can hear all instruments, each one in perfection, all melodies and shades! What a conductor and incredible musicians! I can almost say that, in this interpretation, this symphony could even get to be my favourite (although is hard to pick when you have the 3rd and the 4th, but would be inline with them, each one in their own right, this is about a symphony I would normally not listen much. Kurt Mazur understood it well, for sure. It does sound like Brahms to me now :)) ).

[@itamarferreiradecarvalho487]

Adoro Kurt Masur. Grande maestro! Adoro Brahms!!! Excelente programa!!! 😊

[@Cherubini47]

Great performance,great orchestra,and great maestro.yet,my favourite remains Carlos Kleiber's with Vienna philharmonic.

[@keithramsell9955]

BRAHMS: absolute master of the hemiola!!! Every example gets me, every time!

[@strathbrock]

I had the great privilege of seeing and hearing Masur conducting the Gewandhausorchester in a brilliant Bach programme in Edinburgh's Usher Hall many years ago. It was wonderful.

[@sabinewipfler4053]

Das ist Folter mit der Werbung zwischen den Sätzen!!! So eine wunderbare Interpretation! Danke!!

[@teddycoleman7259]

Rest peacefully, maestro.

[@ruigodway1]

não está descansando; está regente junto a muitos na eternidade !!

[@zinam5795]

RIP GREAT Musician --Conductor ! Bravo Gevandhaus--orchestra !

[@yamashitasaitama]

Listened this after a long time. This clarified my heart!

[@wingcheng850]

R.I.P. Maestro. You are one of my beloved conductors, forever!

[@JamesDean-ow7qo]

I saw him in Paris direct the Orchestre National de France in Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (Beethoven). We praise you.

[@henkrentenaar6350]

R.I.P. Kurt Masur.

[@stanwinn620]

A genius for emotional interpretation regarding Brahms!

[@zinam5795]

Great Johannes's symphony--great conductor & orchestra....RIP MAESTRO!

[@jinnymudlark1815]

Thank you for posting. Beautiful.

[@ivanmanoel7921]

R.I.P. Kurt Masur, Brazil's condolences.

[@hermannbuerger9748]

Hermann Buerger His soul and spirit will be forever present. RIP

[@tahutoa]

2:56 this passage just kicks too much ass. Such a great arrangement to introduce the motif with. 15:16 this part is also cool and jaunty. Very good coda for ending the 1st movement.

[@Fernando8861]

Bela interpretação. Parabéns sr Kurt e seus comandados.

[@user-hd1hp7hb5v]

Great great great conductor! RIP Kurt Mazur!!!!

[@waynepiano]

R.I.P. Maestro Kurt Masur. Another classical legend gone in person, but not in legacy.

[@pauldoerflingerMarcoPolo1947]

Certainement le compositeur le plus complet Johannesburg Brahms et ...Kurt Masur un chef d’orchestre tellement regretté ! Il était un très très grand chef et si humain dans ses comportements !

[@LeighHughesSenlis]

Ah, Brahms was South African!

[@fonsecorona]

@@LeighHughesSenlis 🙂 I'm pretty sure that was a capricious blunder from his freaking phone's text editor... 😅 In other words, a unchecked stupid typo that his phone (probably like mine) persisted on sticking to in the and...it's happened to me so many times.. 😠😎

[@ddbbel5654]

yes, for this master piece. this is the best on KZbin so far

[@DavidWDNO]

it is a good one indeed, but try a rendition by Carlos Kleiber's with Vienna Boys & see/hear for yourself. You `re welcome)

[@billinrio]

An astounding performace and wonderful HD video quality. Masur seems here to be completely at home - in contrast to New York where, with the Philharmonic, one didn't feel the same empathy between him and the orchestra. Interesting how things can lodge in one's mind: I can never hear that wonderful melody in the first movement without recalling a taping of a rehearsal by Bruno Walter in which, upon approaching that moment he shouts to the orchestra, "Sing ! "

[@kianchua7868]

Kurt masur and Sarah Chang performance

[@doraeven4336]

kian chua

[@giginorman1955]

Totally beautiful. Thank you Masur.

[@MrMarcoPonton]

Kurt Masur, QED, fue la propia encarnación de Johannes Brahms, un director a veces áspero, duro, a veces dulce, soñador, las partituras guardadas en su memoria, le permitían adelantarse y señalar con precisión el instrumento que iba a continuación, impecable presentación.

[@bronxboy47]

Straight to the heart of the matter.

[@tronduick7028]

+Bronxboy47 Your comment is exactly right. Nobody ever better to take something this magic and this abstract and make it breathingly transparent. Rest in Peace Maestro Masur and know that you are beloved and sadly missed. You have made my life richer for a long time.

[@barbfrmsf]

may he rest in peace thanks for sharing your talent with us.

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Gracias Maestro !. Y de pie me sumo a los aplausos.

[@urmorph]

A timely performance of a timeless piece. Thanks for posting.

[@benjamincuevaseninde]

-- Les Symphonies de Brahms provoquent un torrent d'images. Une musique très expressive, pittoresque. --

[@theshmoob]

a wonderful performance. you can see the smiles on the performer's faces at times. they are really enjoying it!

[@ceglakos]

[@gyeonghochoi710]

Ich denke, Kurt Masur die Brahms-Symphonie am besten repräsentiert.

[@gyeonghochoi710]

GREAT! Maestro Kurt Mazur,

[@bertcarter6176]

Beautiful performance.

[@miguelgondi3843]

KURT MAZUR EXCELENTE DIRECTOR Y GRAN MUSICO,,,,,QUE DIOS LO TENGA EN LA GLORIA.......

[@uk620]

カート マズールとゲバントハウス オーケストラの心情表現や深い精神性の表現が素晴らしいと思います。 私の愛する演奏の１つでもあるブルックナーのロマンティックも大好きです。

[@keithramsell9955]

March 1951: I was awarded a Violin scholarship to the London College of Music. Later I asked what it was made them select me? "Don't worry lad" was the reply. "You got it when you put the G major Sonata on the stand!".

[@keithramsell9955]

BRAHMS G major Sonata, of course.

[@LalehanLale]

Thanks for uploading and RIP Masur dear...

[@alan1963]

Maestro Kurt Mazur, you are truly a legendary conductor and we sure gonna miss you. You will always being taking care of by Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Erich & Carlos Kleiber, Leonard Bernstein & Lorin Maazel upstairs in heaven, along with greatest composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky & Mahler. May he rest in peace. Amen.

[@rafaelhevia8]

Requiescat in pace, el Maestro que ha legado a la humanidad, tan buenos registros.

[@frereM]

+Rafael Hevia Amen.

[@lucapop3571]

26:34 Yes!!! No rit. in the original score!

[@TroglodyteDiner]

The first time I saw Gewandhaus was in Carnegie Hall and the opening number of the program was the Egmont Overture. They were probably the 1st European orchestra I heard live, and the warmth of the sound just melted me! With the possible exception of Cleveland, I've never heard an American orchestra that could capture that sound.

[@Kegeljan]

Des sonorités somptueuses pour "la symphonie des valses" et un bel hommage au grand Maître de Leipzig.

[@kolnidrei4623]

So schöne Musik

[@Musicforever3000]

Thanks a lot !

[@christophernunn943]

First class performance by everyone. Fantastic sound quality for a church must have been a nightmare setting up the sound system.

[@javiervivanco919]

Para mí su mejor sinfonía.

[@TheJamesalden]

THANK YOU!!!....

[@pedroluisruizsarmiento6331]

Me encanta gracias

[@maxinedunnett8353]

Such wonderful acoustics orchestra so completely in sinc ❤

[@maxinedunnett8353]

Love the flute !

[@Claude1Rochon]

slow. sure. explicit. intensely soft. a relaxed painting. all in your ears. so many pictures . . . they seem to have wings. peacefully revolute and arched towards love. and then. . . majestic and universe all .

[@SeanPi314]

R. I. P. Maestro.

[@kolnidrei4623]

Il y a des moments qui font frémir dans cette musique ...

[@lynton09]

R.I.P. Kurt Masur. Legend.

[@Desireyso58]

Adios Maestro!!!

[@kaptaintrips]

Happy Birthday, OG maestro.

[@mierea_ursului_prisacii6332]

Wonderful!

[@GrandMasterIsaac]

This is a very delightful trip on LSD. I bid you all good day.

[@brianstephens4972]

GrandMasterIsaac 😂😂😂

[@SalvadorFernandezLUQUE]

Fantastica

[@droryang]

R.I.P Master

[@pauldoerflingerMarcoPolo1947]

Johannes! Bien évidemment, les correcteurs automatiques de nos instruments nous jouant des tours !

[@HYEONSOUKIM]

Happy with a great interpreter & Maestro Masur!!!

[@fonsecorona]

13:46...Ese man en el French horn sí que se lució ahí...Es uno de los instrumentos más jodidos de tocar..el hombre es un maestro... 👏

[@ceciliabarreira8391]

Sublime

[@foveauxbear]

Such a beautiful work, shame Masur could never smile, he always looked grumpy.

[@davidgoldin5759]

Kurt Masur was a superb conductor, a wonderful man, and his expression when conducting is beatific.

[@Rwsegee]

SO much drama Love it !

[@ebertcalaca6176]

R.I.P

[@vincenzomartinisi183]

❤️

[@jlkramer6831]

Yes

[@TheJamesalden]

1st movement begins @00:39

[@herrbrahms]

I'm a big fan of Masur's but really wish he had taken the first movement repeat.

[@jorgealbertobaron2]

185 AÑOS DE NACIDO EN 2018 DICE JORGE ALBERTO BARON

[@oscarxu1401]

Horns: 17:46

[@zojapetkovamarkovic8963]

Neka mu e vecna Slava!

[@javiervivanco919]

Recuerdo la (para mí) la mejor 9na de schubert fué con masur

[@TimAndyMik]

Quite a homecoming for Kurt no doubt....nice!

[@user-ll6rp1ll5d]

2:57

[@LTDANMAN44]

google doodle sent me here. this is great!! 07.17.2018

[@jorgealbertobaron1]

120 AÑOS DE FALLECIDO EN 2017 CUMPLE BRAHMS DICE JORGE ALBERTO BARON

[@dingoflim6248]

Cellos at 2:50... Goosebumps.

[@dabedwards]

Ah yes! One of the finest melodies ever written by Brahms, or anyone else for that matter. It's sometimes said a "good tune" is the enemy of symphonic development, but Brahms proves them wrong with the many related melodic ideas in this movement, which are gorgeous as "stand-alone" tunes but fuse together to form a magnificent whole. And what a great performance too, avoiding that "muddiness" of sound which can spoil Brahms (the result of poor playing or poor acoustics).

[@fonsecorona]

That's Brahms in a nutshell..he'll give you the most outstanding beautiful, brief and stand-alone tunes that'll make you remember the big piece undoubtedly by hearing his so many uniquely phrased passages like this one, be it in his symphonies or his piano concerti..or any composition...His violin concerto is a great example to this too..

[@fonsecorona]

@@dabedwards That's why you need to listen to this through a good sound equipment..Otherwise, it's not even worthy.. 😎

[@user-ci1cb3ds4w]

Alle deutschen Orchesterklarinettisten gebrauchen keine Instrumente Böhmschen Systems. Woran liegt es? Wer weiß Bescheid darüber?

[@user-vg4li7ov1d]

+Александр Буянов In Deutschland und Österreich ist das "Oehler-System" (auch "deutsches System" genannt) am weitesten verbreitet, während im Rest der Welt überwiegend das "Böhm-System" zum Einsatz kommt. Woran es liegt? Das ist historisch gewachsen. Und natürlich behauptet jeder, "sein" System wäre das bessere ... ;) Mehr Infos: www.die-klarinetten.de/content/deutsch/deutsch-vs-boehm.html

[@CynthiaAMartz]

The best. I enjoyed this.

[@bomcabedal]

I must honestly confess I didn't like, or get, a lot of what Masur did. His Mendelssohn and Schumann were weirdly dispassionate, and his Tchaikovsky didn't work at all for me. But when he was on the mark in "his" repertory, he was legendary. The Brahms are all on fire, and his Bruch 2nd Symphony is and will probably always be the reference recording of the work.

[@danieldekok6949]

and ya couldn't even show the trombones on that last chord...beautiful performance though.

[@Eddie-ho1pd]

RIP

[@wolfmeyerfeld1768]

Why does Kurt Masur never use a baton? Anyone know?

[@richardbradshaw2889]

He had a tendon injury on his right hand as a child which never healed properly and which made it impossible for him to curl his fingers properly. Hence he never used a baton. Which was very unusual for conductors of course but which did not prevent him from attaining greatness in his chosen profession. I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for a reply! I've only just seen this thread and listened to this fabulous performance.

[@alejandrosotomartin9720]

The concerto consisted in both Overture Egmont and the 2nd of Brahms? Anything more?

[@Euroarts]

In this playlist you can find the full concert: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZnGo42OZ9eNZ68 Enjoy! :)

[@alejandrosotomartin9720]

@@Euroarts Danke.

[@alejandrosotomartin9720]

@@Euroarts Plenty of works. Old style concerto. Thanks.

[@Polymath-xh2pt]

Such a paradise performance place... full of fantasy

[@VictorHugo-xn9jz]

lmao Why the heck did they film the ceiling in the intro xddd

[@olgasurneva4042]

Какой великолепный зал! Звук и Брамс! Ода жизни!

[@coloursandcarousels]

rip