Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Deutsche Grammophon · 4745372 · 84 minutes
Karajan and the Berlin Phil at the height of their powers — that’s what you’re getting here, and the playing has a richness and weight that frankly nobody’s quite matched since. There’s a reason this swept the 1984 Gramophone Awards and still turns up on those "greatest of the decade" lists; it just sounds *huge* in the best possible way, with detail you’d swear you’ve never noticed before. Pour yourself something and settle in for the full 84 minutes — you won’t want to skip a second.
Awards:
- Gramophone Awards — 1984 — Winner – Orchestral
- Gramophone Awards — 1984 — Recording of the Year
- Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1980s
“It is masterly, wonderfully paced and finely detailed. The Berlin Philharmonic has never sounded like this since the 1980s.”
— Penguin Guide, 2011 edition
Arleen Augér (soprano – Symphony No. 2), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo -Symphony No. 2), Birgit Remmert (contralto – Symphony No. 3), Amanda Roocroft (soprano – Symphony No. 4), Christine Brewer (soprano), Soile Isokoski (soprano), Juliane Banse (mezzo-soprano), Birgit Remmert (mezzo-soprano), Jane Henschel…
Warner Classics · 9029586917 · 12 hours 57 minutes
Nearly thirteen hours of Mahler with the Berliner Philharmoniker is the kind of thing you sink into slowly, like a long winter weekend, and somehow it never feels like a slog. The roll call of soloists alone tells you something special is happening here — Janet Baker, Arleen Augér, Amanda Roocroft — voices that don’t just sing the lines but inhabit them. That two of these performances walked away with Gramophone’s Recording of the Year, twelve years apart, says plenty about why this set keeps earning its place on the shelf.
Awards:
- Gramophone Awards — 1988 — Recording of the Year
- Gramophone Awards — 1988 — Winner – Engineering
- Gramophone Awards — 1988 — Winner – Orchestral
- Gramophone Awards — 2000 — Recording of the Year
Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko
Berliner Philharmoniker · BPHR190261 · 44 minutes
Petrenko’s first official release as the Berliner Philharmoniker’s chief brings the kind of anticipation you can practically feel in the room — and the sound here is jaw-droppingly vivid, every detail laid bare with almost forensic clarity. Critics were a little split on whether all that polish comes at the cost of spontaneity, but it’s a fascinating snapshot of a brand-new partnership finding its feet. At just 44 minutes it’s a quick listen, yet it tells you plenty about where this orchestra was headed.
Awards:
- Record Review — 25th May 2019 — Record of the Week
- Presto Recording of the Week — 17th May 2019
- Gramophone Magazine — July 2019 — Editor’s Choice
- Presto Recordings of the Year — Finalist 2019
“The sound is so stunningly present, so perfectly tailored, that I missed any sense of a single occasion. Details are amazing, for which I’m grateful, but sometimes they only add to a feeling…”
— BBC Music Magazine, September 2019,3 out of 5 stars(Performance) /5 out of 5 stars(Recording)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle
Berliner Philharmoniker · BPHR150071 · 3 hours 47 minutes
Rattle and the Berliners dig into Sibelius with real commitment here, and you can hear how carefully they’ve shaped every cold, surging climax — these are performances that feel like they’ve been lived in. The Fifth is the obvious highlight (that swan theme finale gives me chills every time), but the whole set rewards you for sitting with it across its near four hours. If you want Sibelius played with grandeur and ferocious orchestral discipline, this is a genuinely thrilling place to land.
Awards:
- International Classical Music Awards — 2016 — Winner – Symphonic Music
- Building A Library — February 2026 — Top Choice (Symphony No. 5)
“Rattle has undoubtedly prepared his Berlin Philharmonic to the highest level for this Sibelius project, and the results are rarely less than impressive…Rattle is at his best in the grandeurs…”
— BBC Music Magazine, December 2015
Berliner Philharmoniker, Rundfunkchor Berlin, John Adams, Alan Gilbert, Gustavo Dudamel, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle
Berliner Philharmoniker · BPHR170141 · 4 hours 57 minutes
There’s something special about hearing the Berlin Phil dig into John Adams, and across nearly five hours you get a real sense of why this orchestra and this music belong together. The lower brass hits like a freight train, the wind solos sigh, and conductors like Rattle, Dudamel, and Petrenko each bring their own spark to the proceedings. If you’ve ever wondered what all the Adams fuss is about, this is a gorgeous, generous place to find out.
Awards:
- The New York Times — Recordings of the Year 2017
- Grammy Awards — 61st Awards (2019) — Nominee – Classical Compendium
“Both [Harmonielehre and The Gospel According to the Other Mary] benefit from the full palette of the Berlin Philharmonic, from powerful lower brass to exquisite wind solos and sensuous strings;…”
— BBC Music Magazine, March 2018,5 out of 5 stars
Dorothea Röschmann (soprano) & Thomas Quasthoff (baritone)Berliner Philharmoniker & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Simon Rattle
Warner Classics · 3653932 · 67 minutes
There’s a real sense of consolation running through Rattle’s Brahms here — that warm, dark Berlin sound wrapping around you like the Requiem always promises but doesn’t always deliver. Röschmann’s "Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit" floats in with such tenderness, while Quasthoff brings a gravity that never tips into heaviness. No surprise it swept the awards that year; it’s the kind of account you put on when you need the music to actually mean something.
Awards:
- BBC Music Magazine — April 2007 — Disc of the month
- Gramophone Awards — 2007 — Winner – Choral
- Grammy Awards — 50th Awards (2007) — Best Choral Performance
“…this is a very impressive account of Brahms’s German Requiem, deeply considered and most beautifully played and sung. The full, warm sound he draws from the Berlin Philharmonic has a sombre…”
— BBC Music Magazine, April 2007,5 out of 5 stars
