Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 2 / Essay No. 1 / Adagio for Strings / Music for a Scene from Shelley / Overture to The School for Scandal [Import]

Samuel Barber (Composer), Andrew Schenck (Conductor), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Andrew Schenck
• Composer: Samuel Barber
• Audio CD (November 4, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Atlantic UK
• ASIN: B00008FVAT
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,379 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The School for Scandal, overture for orchestra, Op. 5

2. Music for a Scene from Shelley, for orchestra, Op. 7

3. Essay for orchestra, Op. 12

4. Adagio for strings (or string quartet; arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Quartet), Op. 11

5. Symphony No. 2, Op.19: I. Allegro ma non troppo

6. Symphony No. 2, Op.19: II. Andante, un poco mosso

7. Symphony No. 2, Op.19: III. Presto, senza battuta

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a genuine 'Barber' bargain!, November 26, 2006

By 

Thomas Martin "sonomatom" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 2 / Essay No. 1 / Adagio for Strings / Music for a Scene from Shelley / Overture to The School for Scandal (Audio CD)

This CD is a perfect introduction to the art of Samuel Barber, or just another great addition ot your 'Barber' library. Schenck had the same sensibilities for Barber that another young conductor had - Thomas Schippers. High recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great conducting, good playing, mediocre recorded sound-, June 20, 2008

By 

Jeffrey Harris "Jeff" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 2 / Essay No. 1 / Adagio for Strings / Music for a Scene from Shelley / Overture to The School for Scandal (Audio CD)

I have owned this recording for many years, and I never replaced it because it is my only recording of "Music for a Scene from Shelley". That piece is typical Barber and I like to hear it every now and then.

A previous reviewer compared the conducting on this record to Schippers. That's a hell of a comparison to make, as Schippers is better than anyone else in Barber's music...even better than Bernstein. I must say, however, that I fully agree with the assessment. These performances really give Barber's neo-Romantic effusions the full-blown passionate treatment they deserve. Tempos and, more importantly, the "feel" of the music are perfectly judged.

As another reviewer noted, the New Zealand strings play very sweetly and give a good Romantic surge to the more lyrical passages. At times, particularly in the symphony, you wish for a larger body of strings, or perhaps a more present recorded sound. The winds and horns sound a bit recessed at times, so I once again concur with the previous reviewer, who noted that perhaps some "remixing" is in order.

I really like this CD for the unusual repertoire, but if you are new to Barber's music, don't start here. Begin with the Schippers recording -- it's easy to find on amazon. After that, if you want to hear more, I strongly recommend the violin concerto as recorded by Bernstein and an indispensible CD with Leontyne Price singing "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" and a couple excepts from Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra". From that point, you are ready for this CD and for a 2-CD set with Leonard Slatkin and the St Louis Symphony that includes the 1st Symphony, the Piano Concerto, and the Cello Concerto, which is not a great piece.

That's probably a bit more than you really needed to know! Can you tell that Barber is one of my favorite composers?! He and Copland write music that sounds truly "American" but not trivial or glib as Gershwin and even Ives can seem at times. If you've never given Barber a try, or if you've only ever heard the Adagio for Strings, get that Schippers CD right away!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Recording, March 16, 2008

By 

B. R. Merrick - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Samuel Barber: Symphony No. 2 / Essay No. 1 / Adagio for Strings / Music for a Scene from Shelley / Overture to The School for Scandal (Audio CD)

Yes, it is true that the technical aspects of the recording are lacking, but I find that all I have to do is turn up the volume to produce a somewhat better sound. Furthermore, the New Zealand Symphony deserves credit in their performance of this demanding, virtuosic orchestral writing. This is a decent CD, not the best perhaps, but there is fire and vitality that I believe is sufficient.

So if you're a perfectionist, you may want to continue searching. If not, I think you'll be satisfied with this one, especially with the ending of Symphony No. 2. (Although, the track of the final movement finishes right when the reverberation has died down, meaning that if you are playing this track on random shuffle on iTunes or your iPod, the next piece will start right away. You've been warned.)