After struggling for years to come to terms with his fear of comparison to Beethoven, Brahms finally completed his First Symphony at the age of 43. It was hailed as a triumph and the remaining three symphonies followed relatively easily.

His Symphony no.2 overflows with a relaxed, pastoral beauty, while the Third Symphony contains some of the most dramatic music Brahms was to compose.

Finally, loaded with German Romanticism and including variations on a Bach cantata, Brahms’s final symphony is a remarkable example of his mastery of symphonic composition. A rich, warm work that builds on a sense of movement and intensity right up to the final bars.

Along with the symphonies, this release also includes Brahms’s Double Concerto, Tragic Overture and Serenade no.2.

The London Symphony Orchestra’s cycle of Brahms symphonies was Bernard Haitink’s first set of recordings on the LSO Live label, originally released individually throughout 2004–05, and then as a boxed set in 2005.

This collection of remastered recordings is now available on SACD.

Bernard Haitink’s revelatory Brahms recordings with the LSO have demonstrated why fresh new interpretations of his major works are so important, and why the composer’s music is still so relevant today.