Symphony 2 / Violin Concerto

Hanson (Artist), Barber (Artist), Slatkin (Artist), St. Louis Symphony (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002RP7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,830 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent recording, August 18, 2000

By 

Christopher M. Adams (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony 2 / Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

I'm normally not much of a fan of Leonard Slatkin. But this recording displays the best conducting I've yet heard from him. Hanson's symphony is one of the most beautiful pieces written. And Oliveira does a technically flawless job at Barber's violin concerto. I was surprisingly more please with this recording than I ever hoped to be.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite CD's, June 16, 2000

By 

SJR (Wichita, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symphony 2 / Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

I originally purchased this CD because I had seen Olivera perform the Barber in concert and really enjoyed the performance. What was a pleasant surprise was listening to Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony's performance of the Hanson Symphony #2. Outstanding! I listen to this CD over and over. I have listened to other recordings of this work (e.g., the composer himself, Gerard Schwarz-Seattle Symphony) and Slatkin's is by far the definitive interpretation. A classic-highest recommendation!

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous everything!, January 20, 2000

By 

Gregory M. Zinkl (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony 2 / Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

There isn't much to say except:

1. You can get other wonderful renditions of the Barber Violin Concerto. But this one is just as wonderful as the rest. And the rest probably don't have either the beautiful sound or the most idiomatic orchestral accompaniment that this one does. (The little piano interjections still give me goosebumps!). If you were wondering, the violin soloist won the Gold Medal at the Tchaikowsky competition!

2. The symphony is, well, WOW. Great music, great orchestra, great playing, great interpretation, great great great great! Forget Hanson's own recording with his scrawny orchestra on Mercury--I bet you'd want this one after you've heard it.

One of my favorite discs. Ever.