"This is the performance I use most often to introduce Furtwängler to someone unfamiliar with his art. It has long been recognized as one of his greatest recorded documents ... From the intensity of the strings and timpani at the opening to the final chords, this is Brahms that grabs you by the throat and won't let go. It is at once dramatic and lyrical, genial and stern, heaven-storming, and intimate." - Fanfare, 2001
The reviewer goes on to state that "It has always been one of Furtwängler's best-sounding recordings" - and I'm sure he'll be utterly delighted with what a further near two-decades worth of technological advancement has done for the sound: this new XR remastering sounds truly gorgeous, a more than worthwhile upgrade on what came before.
If you don't know it, you really should. If you do know it, you really should take a listen to this. An absolutely top-notch performance in incredible sound. We just can't get enough of it!