Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Brahms inherited the German symphonic crown from Beethoven and wrote four of the most powerful symphonies of the Romantic era. The gentle Symphony No. 2 charms with its warm melodies and welcoming pastoral quality. Architecturally grand, Brahms’s fourth and final symphony concludes with one of the most breathtaking passages in the symphonic literature: an epic passacaglia that builds to a cataclysmic climax.