Search - Samuel Barber, Leonard Slatkin, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra :: Barber: Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; Piano Concerto

A Winning Combo of Barber Concerti

09/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those who want to one-stop-shop for Barber's three solo concerti, it doesn't get much better than this disc.



Conductor Leonard Slatkin has a firm sense of the overall pulse in Barber's music; he rivals Marin Alsop in not allowing drama to overshadow lyricism. With Slatkin we take time to smell the flowers but know we're not going to be abandoned in the meadow to find our own way home, as I occasionally feel about Marin Alsop's performances on Naxos (as fine as those traversals are otherwise).



Pianist John Browning practically owned the Piano Concerto throughout his career. Barber wrote it for him, and no one has yet come close to his authority or understood it as fully. Even if he is competing against his much younger self, what this performance lacks in sheer adrenaline compared to the première recording with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra is more than made up for in a nourishing chiaroscuro of intrigue and sultry seduction.



Like Browning in the Piano Concerto, Kyoko Takezawa understates the overall thrust of the Violin Concerto with a sighing, sweetly smiling beguilement and some surprises at the more explosive moments. Everything feels totally intuitive, improvisatory and rapt, with Slatkin following his soloist with the utmost flexibility and sensitivity. Move over, Stern and Bernstein - you have some serious competition!



No less impressive are Slatkin and Steven Isserlis in a persuasive and impassioned Cello Concerto - the least known of Barber's three concertos and, while a piece that never fully came together for the composer, one not deserving its relative neglect. Wendy Warner, Marin Alsop and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra gamely hold their own on Naxos, with the spaciousness and allowance for drama to unfold on its own terms even while highlighting. Isserlis and Slatkin are no less mindful of this work's (and Barber's overall) inherent songfulness, but with a more overtly outgoing attitude and tighter rein on Barber's occasional tendency to wander, their performance is at least as approachable and perhaps more engaging.



If you have no other Barber in your collection -- except perhaps for the Adagio for Strings, which turns up everywhere -- make sure that you have this disc.



"

THE to-get Barber disc

Samuel Stephens | TN, USA | 08/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I became a huge Barber fan earlier this year, and I own all his most significant works over a span of six discs. Some repeats.

Someone had loaned me the Violin Concerto with Barber/Stern team-up...honestly it didn't strike me as remotely interesting even after three listens. I got this however, and I now accept the Barber Violin Concerto for the great masterpiece it is. Part of the reason this one worked better was the fact that this disc has all of Barber's concertos...except the Capricorn Triple concerto. And the reason that helped was because the Piano Concerto is so good,, that it helped turn me toward the other two concertos.



Fully recommmended. As good as youll find with all three on one disc!"

A disc of profound emotion

L. Borcherding | Tacoma WA USA | 10/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this disc are three concertos of the composer Samual Barber, one for violin, for cello, and for piano. They're amazing concertos of outstanding emotion. The violin concerto starts out with such a tender and nostalgic theme, you'll have to fight back tears. Its a joy to listen to.The second movement is similar, but the third movment takes a turn towards virtuosity and syncopated rythems that keep you on the edge of your seat and give a satisfying contrast after two sweet, emotional movements.

The Cello Concerto shows a darker side of the composer,but no less lyrical. This piece isnt so much sad, but more passionate with a kind of mystierouis quality about it. The Piano concerto is the least lyrical out of the three. Its more angular and modern sounding,esspecially in the finale where the time signature is the irregular 5/4. But in no way is it less great than the other 2 concertos. All the preformers are very talented and Lenard Stalkin is a great conductor for it."