Customer Reviews

Barber: Complete Works for Solo Piano

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If you ever want to buy anything by Barber, this is one that you owe it to yourself to have in your collection. We often forget while listening to all of his symphonic and chamber works that he was a fantastic pianist, and some of his best-crafted work was done for solo piano.

Highlights (well, for me):

The Sonata is incredible. It has all of the development and execution that we expect from an orchestra from one person, in one take.

The Four Excursions are an interesting foray into Americana, although my favorite is III, a theme and variations on the old cowby song Streets of Laredo. Could be really sappy, until you hear that the opening melodic figure pits seven notes in the right hand against eight in the left, an interepretation that stuns me every time I hear it, and Parkin does a great job of interpreting all of it.

You won't be sorry.

I was thrilled to get this CD of all of Barber's piano music. I couldn't find any other disc with all these pieces. He was a great composer, if you like classical piano music, I recommend this disc fully!