Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 2; Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto

Samuel Barber (Composer), Howard Hanson (Composer), Leonard Slatkin (Conductor), Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Elmar Oliveira (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Elmar Oliveira
• Orchestra: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
• Composer: Samuel Barber, Howard Hanson
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• 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 (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,101 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( H ) > Hanson, Howard
  #22 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( S ) > St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
  #53 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( B ) > Barber, Samuel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 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)

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.

12 of 13 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

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!

17 of 20 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)

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.