For lovers of classical music there can be few prospects as exciting as hearing the Berlin Philharmonic live. There is simply no other orchestra in the world that exceeds it in prestige. The Philharmonic is playing a three-day engagement at Carnegie Hall performing the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms coupled with pieces by Arnold Schoenberg.

Except for the double-bass players, the members of the Berlin Philharmonic entered the stage of Carnegie Hall en-masse on Wednesday evening. It created a sense of excitement like watching great athletes enter a ring or stadium with the audience knowing that something exceptional was about to happen. The players of the Philharmonic did not disappoint that sense of anticipation.

It is interesting that the Philharmonic has programmed works only by Brahms and Schoenberg. Although Brahms composed during the romantic era, at heart he was really a classicist with a profound respect for the compositional forms of Mozart and Beethoven. Schoenberg was probably the most controversial composer of the 20th century. Although he began his career writing rich romantic scores, he subsequently developed the revolutionary twelve-tone system that completely altered the traditional process of composition. In the twelve-tone system, composers almost literally write by number and traditional harmonic processes are swept away. Listeners find these later atonal works by Schoenberg either fascinating or chaotic and disorienting.

The first piece played by the Philharmonic on the opening night of the series was an orchestral arrangement by Schoenberg of Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor. It is a symptom of Schoenberg's eclecticism that he made the arrangement in 1937 in a period when he was otherwise occupied with composing his revolutionary atonal works. The playing of the strings of the Philharmonic was particularly rich in the opening melodic material of the piece. The last movement of the work was probably the most memorable and vaguely recalled the playful quality of some of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies. Listening to the Philharmonic's rendition of the very frenetic, fast and exciting closing moments of the piece was the sonic equivalent of driving in an exceptionally finely tuned Mercedes-Benz.

One couldn't help but eagerly anticipate the second half of the program, which consisted of Brahm's First Symphony. The work apparently cost the composer some psychological distress. It was composed in the immediate decades after Beethoven's death and Brahms knew that there would be comparisons with that master's symphonies. While creating the First Symphony, Brahms was quoted as saying, "You can't have any idea what it's like always to hear such a giant marching behind you".

Brahms' First Symphony follows a traditional symphonic arc of opening emotional tension concluding with a triumphant resolution. Indeed the opening of the work typifies 19th century romantic "sturm und drang" ("storm and stress") with the relentless pounding of the timpani sounding like the very footsteps of Doom. The remainder of the movement largely consists of anxious musical churning. The second and third movements of the symphony are calmer. However, a listener senses that this relaxation comes more from exhaustion from the first movement rather than any true psychological resolution.

Indeed, the fourth movement opens on the same emotional storm-swept plane as the first. But in a great moment of the symphonic repertoire, there is a brief, frenzied passage leading to a musical thunderclap which disperses all of the previous tension and darkness of the symphony. A glorious horn solo emerges and a listener feels as if they are on a high Alp gazing at a sun filled landscape below. Indeed, in a letter Brahms mentioned the Alps in referring to this passage. A mountain metaphor in describing the music would be appropriate in this instance as resolving life's challenges can feel like scaling a mountain. Musically, the symphony offers a sense that it is possible to supersede life's tribulations to a more transcendent plane.

It is perhaps in these uncertain times that works of art like Brahms' First Symphony are particularly valuable. This writer remembers hearing the late conductor Carlo Maria Giulini remark that the purpose of great music is to demonstrate that "Man must win." The exceptionally brilliant performance by the Philharmonic of the conclusion of the symphony did create a hopeful sense that there is a way out of darkness. The particularly shimmering, bright and clear playing of the violins and trumpets accentuated the sense of optimism.

The evening was led by Sir Simon Rattle who is the music director and conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. I have encountered few conductors who display as much flair and nuance in the pacing of music. When a score called for a significant ritard (slowing down) he would at times almost completely shut down the momentum of a piece creating a very exciting dramatic effect. . He truly uses his hands to mould musical forms in a way other artists would sculpt the plastic arts.

Needless to say, the playing of the Philharmonic was technically brilliant throughout the evening. The various instrumental choirs are particularly well integrated and balanced and one rarely has a sense (as with some orchestras) of the woodwinds and brass being separate ensembles from the strings.

In the horn excerpt (and subsequent flute repeat) in the passage in the Brahms symphony noted above, one mght have hoped for a more relaxed and less strident quality to the playing. (When transcendence has been achieved, one hopes a relaxed calm can set in, at least temporarily). There were also times when the sheer technical facility of the orchestra may have made the ensemble gloss over some of the more profound spiritual aspects of the symphony. But there was no doubt that in the opening concert of the their three night series, the Berlin Philharmonic was engaged in music making of the highest order.

The last concert of the series on Friday November 13 is currently sold out. However, music lovers can check in with Carnegie Hall Box Office at 212- 247-7800 to see if any tickets have been returned. The progam will feature Brahms' Third and Fourth Symphonies and Schoenberg's Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene.

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