Herbert von Karajan"s Brahms has always been the subject of some controversy, largely because his ultrasmooth approach masked too much orchestral detail and made the music sound softer-edged than it should. This, his last recording of the First Symphony, is the best of them, and a fine version in general. Unfortunately, there are many other versions either just as good or better at full price, with additional couplings, so unless you must have this particular performance, you can do better elsewhere (Jochum [EMI], Skrowaczewski, Dorati, Kubelík, or Kertész, to name just a few). --David Hurwitz