Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68

It took almost two decades for Brahms to escape the monumental shadow cast by Beethoven and complete his first symphony. Kirill Petrenko and the musicians of his Berliner Philharmoniker embrace the work’s spirit of creative struggle and project its supercharged yearning for an ultimate if unrealized state of peace. Their phenomenal performance, prefaced by an equally intense account of the Tragic Overture, expresses the full force of the composer’s mighty ambition while drawing out the score’s many moments of chamber music-like intimacy. For a sense of the former, listen to the transition back to the first movement’s main theme (launched by a contrabassoon and double basses around eight minutes in) and prepare for its overwhelming impact. Petrenko’s interpretation, while generally expansive, teems with life. Its many fine details—few finer than the radiant solo parts in the slow movement—serve a clear overarching vision that reveals the score’s spiritual depths.