BRAHMS. Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Carlo Maria Giulini. DG 435 348-4GH; 435 3482GH (47 minutes: ODD).

Selected comparisons:

BPO, Abbado (2/90) 427 643-2GH

Columbia SO, Walter (7/90) CD44870

Concertgebouw,Chailly (12/90) 430 324-2DH

It is a sombre autumn that Giulini evokes—but the colours are rich. A well-seasoned reading has matured and ripened and expanded over the years. It is essentially the same old Giulini of EMI/ Philharmonia days except that some of the spontaneity has died. The first subject, for instance, is a shade too reverent to yield, every note counts (indeed every note is precious), but the articulation is rather too respectfully weighed and tested for the phrasing to flow freely. Tempos are just the wrong side of expansive, too, though as the burnished Vienna cellos take up Brahms's counteridea one suddenly wants to linger.

In short, I see a little too much of Valhalla on the horizon: tuttis are heavy and overemphatic, the DG sound is close and saturated (some will find it overbearing) though there is a part of me that loves to be among those Viennese strings. Is there any violin section in the world who could lead us so beguilingly into the coda of the first movement: that wonderful variant of the first subject right down on the soulful G string vibrates and radiates as only these players can. I love too the way in which they can 'take away' and then reinforce their tone in the course of a single note, the way in which they negotiate those Brahmsian swoops, just a hint of portamento adding to the intensity. They are marvellous towards the end of the second movement as the music turns back on itself and Brahms has them vent their anxiety in torrential sextuplets. Then there is that glorious alliance of cellos and wide-bore Vienna horns— that must surely be the sound that Brahms dreamed of. . . and so on. You can see that I am persuaded in spite of my better instincts. Giulini's finale is again deliberate as opposed to airborne, but bracing and ruddy in complexion with a genuine sense of joy in the counterpoint. The second subject has rarely sounded rosier (not least, of course, in its grand reprise), the horns really do throw their hats in the air with their brief but memorable descant during the first big tutti; and their colleagues do likewise in the coda with trombones pealing out their descending scales and trumpets shouting the second subject from on high. I just wish the maestro were a little freer and ultimately more mobile with some of his phrasing. The spirit is willing, the flesh clearly is not. Even so, there is much to relish, as distinctive in its way as was Chailly's fresh, airy, light-textured account with the Royal Concergebouw (Decca). The library choices remain Abbado (DG) and, of the `old master', Walter (Sony), but collectors will want to sample Giulini. No fill-up, but if value can be measured in commitment then you'll certainly not feel short-changed by his 47 minutes. E.S.