“The second major artistic event, which even towered over the violin concerto, was the performance of the Second Symphony in D major by Johannes Brahms by the NDR Elbphilharmoniker under the direction of director Alan Gilbert, who directed by heart. Significantly more gripping and colorful and plastic than Günther Wand with the NDR Symphony Orchestra at the time, Gilbert Brahms’ symphony awakened to full, almost tangible bloom. There one indulged in hearing in the beguiling.”