CCMusic.com

This Sept. 2012 performance would have been the third in a long series of Requiems conducted by Mariss Jansons. Unfortunately the 'new tradition' was cut short by Jansons's departure as the Royal Concertgebouw's chief conductor during the 2014/2015 season. Following the requiem masses of Dvořák and Mozart in previous seasons, this performance of the German Requiem by Brahms was dedicated to Kurt Sanderling, one of the orchestra's most beloved guest conductors who passed away the year before. Mr. Sanderling would have turned 100 that very month. It proved to be a very moving performance, a fitting salute from Mariss Jansons and the Concertgebouw Orchestra to a great conductor. "Gerald Finley... combines gritty presence and clarity of diction... soprano Genia Kühmeier moved the audience with the purity of her timbre." (NRC) "The RCO in Brahms leaves one speechless." (Kwadratuur) "Rarely a choir and an orchestra merge as well and rarely this Requiem is performed as beautifully... " (Het Parool)