Customer Reviews

Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 1 / Piano Concerto / Souvenirs

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Piano Concerto is well done, with excellent contributions from all parties. If you are expecting something like Barber's Violin Concerto played on the piano, you will be disappointed; however, if you approach the work without any preconceptions, you stand to be greatly rewarded.

Souvenirs isn't my favorite Barber, but it is well played by Browning and Slatkin at the keyboard.

However, the disc offers quite a find to me, and that is the performance of the symphony. Barber's composition is thrilling and gripping in both I and II, while III and IV (note that it is a one mov't work divided into four parts)have Barber's trademarks of lyricism and power. I and II are appropriately executed by the performers, while III is especially beautiful, with a wonderful solo oboe and a hushed string accompaniment reminiscient of Dvorak's Sym. 9, mov't II (also the same vein as the similarly-scored slow mov't of Barber's Violin Concerto? Same idea!), with an overwhelming transition to IV, a Passacaglia that makes you believe in the form. Slatkin and St. Louis leave simple professionalism behind to reach a transcendence in playing and interpretation of this work that is stunning. The contribution of the solo oboe in III is remarkable, as is the responsiveness of each player/section to the music, playing like chamber musicians. The transition to III is not only emotionally overwhelming, but packed with goosebumps and a tear. Their performance of IV convinces you that the tear was not shed in vain, and the more should be coming! (Okay, maybe that's over the top, but this music and performance really move me!). While charges of pedestrian interpretation and matter-of-fact, too brisk tempi can be sometimes levelled against Slatkin, here is hardly the case. Slatkin has the music unfold oganically, with perfectly-timed climaxes. I don't know how else to say it, but such advocacy for Barber is immensely gratifying. The performances are perserved in excellent sound, with the quality work done again by J. D. Sachs and W. Hoekstra.

To have John Browning's interpretation (the concerto was written for him) on digital format is a priceless treasure. Samuel Barber was a devoted fan of Browning, and it would seem that Browning had an incomprehensible understanding of Barber's music. This collaberation makes for an exciting recording of an incredibly complex piece of music! The performance of the Symphony is straightforward and uncomplicated, though it lacks the luster of the Concerto performance. Overall, 5 stars!

John Browning, for whom the concerto was written brings Barber's imprimatur to this recording, along with great energy and sensitivity. The last two movements are ethereal and exhilirating, respectively. This piece displays some of the thorny modernity for which Barber is not so well known. The Symphony, an earlier composition, is also performed with great power by the orchestra under Slatkin's direction. If Brahms can be seen as the heir to Beethoven, combining Romantic sentiment with classical rigor, Barber picks up this thread in this symphony, a one movement (with four sections) piece built with great economy around a single theme. The finale, a passcaglia, recalls Brahms' fourth symphony. The slow movement is trademark Barber lyricism, while the scherzo is a bit spikier and quite exciting. Slatkin is becoming a premiere interpreter of American music and the more I hear, the more I'm impressed with him. For anyone who wants to get a little more in-depth than the Adagio and the Violin concerto, this is an excellent place to start.

Barber's Symphony No. 1 is an early yet mature work of unrelenting seriousness, melodic richness and genuine power. Though not entirely free of cliche, this is a very heart-felt and satisfying 21-minute work, in four loosely connected movements.

The Piano Concerto strikes me as being less inspired, more of a work to admire than to love. Certainly Barber doesn't lavish the same lyrical affection on the piano that he did on the violin or the cello in his respective concerti for those instruments; by design, the piano concerto does not exploit the piano as a vehicle for showy display. For me, the angular motif introduced by the piano at the beginning of the first movement wears out its welcome, so often it is repeated. The second movement is more lyrical, more like the Barber of "Adagio for Strings" vintage. The third movement is high-energy and percussive with a skillful interplay between soloist and orchestra.

The encore is Souvenirs, an incidental work of "pure nostalgia" for piano duet. Slatkin joins Browning at the piano here and they make the music sound completely improvisatory, like they're making it up as they go along. It's a delightfully lightweight but inventively melodic suite.

All in all, this is a disc that Barber enthusiasts will want. With good sound and performances, it can certainly be recommended to a broader range of collectors as well.

Leonard Slatkin was the house conductor of American music in the Eighties for both EMI and RCA. Along iwth his premiere recording of the Corigliano Sym. #1, this revival of two major Barber works was Slatkin's finest hour. American symphonies around WW II rested on the shoulders of serious-minded composers now rarely played (Walter Piston, William Schuman, David Diamond, Roy Harris), and in that less-than-towering landscape the Barber First sounded confident, propulsive, optimistic, and full of song. What could be better? The work was played everywhere and recorded by no less than Bruno Walter.

If its idiom now seems dated, I don't think it matters much. The work's original strengths are still present, particularly Barber's haunting aria for oboe in the slow movement. This composer was never one for structure, but at 21 min. the symphony has no time to wander and makes a great first impression. Slatkin's reading is engaging and has the benefit of gorgeous sonics from BMG.

The Piano Concerto, at half an hour, does wander too much, and at times when no ideas occur to him, Barber thorws in fingering frills and pointless ornamentation. John Browning, the dedicatee, was at his height when he premiered the work in 1962. Since then his career has waned. I can't tell why given how beautifully he plays here, with both power and lyricism. Barber ventures a shade more into modernism, with clashing dissonances between piano and orchestra, and the effect is more bracing than the symphny. the high point of the concerto is the slow movement, where the melody and its devlopment are quite mysteriously woven. It's a shame that the piano concerto couldn't be ten minutes shorter, because it is otherwise a piece that draws you in.

Years ago, I had this same recording on 33 1/3, so I was exceptionally pleased to find it now in CD form. The more I listen to the Concerto, the more I hear of American composer Samuel Barber's amazing musical unity, variety, and rhythmic excitement. The second movement is beautifully lyrical, and the flanking two movements are musically energetic with many interesting ideas. Pianist John Browning is brilliant in this recording. (I can understand why Barber chose him to do the premier performance.) The other tracks on this CD include Barber's Symphony No. 1, and also his "Souvenirs" for one piano, four hands performed by Browning and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin. I highly recommend this recording of some of Barber's very appealing works.

LIKE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL, IT'S DRAMATIC

I just wrote an in-depth review of this cd but then did something wrong and accidentally erased it. The point was...THIS HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE RECORDING OF ANYTHING EVER FOR THE LAST HALF A DECADE(as long as it has existed) and I highly recommend that every person in the world listen to this CD at LEAST once a day. :) I could say so much more...email me if you want to hear me babble on about this beautiful brown Barber CD.