Andrés Orozco-Estrada is set to take over as principal guest conductor at the London Philharmonic in the autumn, but for the past few years he has headed the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Vienna. The warm, dense orchestral sound he has cultivated there characterises their Brahms symphony cycle. Indeed, that sound is at times too heavy in a repertoire that benefits from lightness and transparency; for example, though the opening of the Symphony No 2 goes with a lilt, there is almost too much detail vying for our attention and this holds back the momentum. No 3 begins forcefully and ramps up excitingly midway through the opening movement, but the second movement plods a little, and the melody of the third is played so thoughtfully by each section that it begins to sound laboured. The LPO can look forward to Orozco-Estrada’s arrival, but he and his current orchestra have perhaps considered this symphony cycle a little too carefully.
