Customer Reviews

Barber: Symphony No. 2, Cello Concerto, Medea

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According to the liner notes S. Barber studied conducting just to record these three pieces. I found the Symphony #2 dull. The cello concerto is played adeptly by Zara Nelsova. Medea's Dances of Death and Vengeance have always been an old favorite of mine. The conducting is very good, but the sound level in the concerto and symphony is not that clear.

In 1950, Samuel Barber went to London and conducted musicians from some of the best British orchestras in these three works, his only commercial recordings as a conductor of his music. He didn't enjoy the experience, apparently, and there was no record label to coax him back into the recording studio for a run at the "complete works" as CBS did with Stravinsky and Copland. The performances here aren't especially good or bad, and all have been surpassed by much more recent recordings by the likes of conductors Andrew Schenk, Neeme Jarvi, Leonard Slatkin, and especially Marin Alsop in "Medea" and the Second Symphony, as well as cellists Steven Isserlis, Paul Tobias, and Yo-Yo Ma as soloists in the Cello Concerto (which was written for Nelsova, the soloist here).

These monoaural recordings didn't stay in the catalog for long once stereo LPs were introduced c.1958 (a rechanneled, "fake stereo" LP of the "Medea" and Second Symphony performances was released on the Everest label at some point in the 1960s). Those seeking an introduction to these Barber works are best advised to go to the more modern recordings, especially the well-recorded and performed Alsop performances (with another British ensemble, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) on Naxos. Barber buffs, however, will want to grab this CD while they still can find it, for Barber's own take on the music. The 1950-vintage sound and digital transfers are quite serviceable.