Music of Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber (Artist), Howard Hanson (Artist), David Epstein (Artist), Andrew Schneck (Artist), Eugene List (Artist), Massachusetts Institute of Technology Symphony Orchestra (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1995)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Vox (Classical)
• ASIN: B000001K3Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #417,631 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Inexpensive Barber, July 20, 2003

By	Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a good collection of the compositions of two of the best 20th Century American Composers, Samuel Barber and Howard Hanson. Barber, best known for his Adagio for Strings (recognized by most as the haunting piece featured in the movie Platoon), also wrote two Symphonies, an excellent Piano Concerto and various works for Orchestra, all featured here on this title. Hanson, a first rate conductor as well as a composer (see my reviews of his Mercury Living Presence titles), is only represented on this collection by his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, despite the fact he wrote numerous Symphonies. The performances presented here are enjoyable, yet my first choices for CDs of Barber's music would have to be the EMI Double Forte with Leonard Slatkin, and an amazing disc of mostly lesser-known works by the late Thomas Schippers on Sony Masterworks Heritage. Of course, Barber's Adagio is seemingly omnipresent and can be had on a plethora of discs; for Hanson I would go straight to the source and hear him conduct his own music. However, all things considered, this set is hard to beat at its budget price.