Samuel Barber - Knoxville; Symphony No. 1

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Samuel Barber (1910-81)

Symphony No. 1; Essays for Orchestra;
Night Flight (published fragment Symphony 2)
*Music for a Scene from Shelley
*Knoxville (Summer of 1915)

Molly McGurk (soprano)
London Symphony Orchestra
*West Australia Symphony Orchestra
David Measham

Customer Reviews:

A Great Intro to American Classical Music - Almost a Short Course!.......2005-07-12

Many reasonably sophisticated American and European musiclovers still think there are really no American classical music composers of note other than perhaps Gershwin and Copland. It is to the credit of the Naxos label, via their 'American Classics' series, that the lie is put to that notion. Each month there are new issues from Naxos containing music by American composers. And it was a brilliant idea for them to take selections from their dozens of releases of this music to put together this sampler of such music to illustrate a 100+ page essay on the subject by an eminent writer on music, Barrymore Laurence Scherer. The combination of 2 CDs of music tracks, Scherer's essay, a chronological outline, suggestions for further listening, even a map showing where various composers were born helps the 'student' learn much about our nation's musical heritage.

There are selections by twenty-eight composers stretching from the amazing Wagnerian 'Macbeth' Overture by William Henry Fry (1813-1864) to the very recent 'Rapture,' a percussion concerto by Michael Torke (b. 1961). Some selections are complete movements, others are shorter passages from larger works. Included are such gems as the first movement of Arthur Foote's Piano Quartet, the third movement of Henry Hadley's Fourth Symphony, Charles Ives's 'The Unanswered Question,' 'King Cotton' by John Philip Sousa, 'Maple Leaf Rag' by Scott Joplin, a passage (the exciting Spanish Waltz) from Walter Piston's 'The Incredible Flutist,' the finale of Copland's 'Billy the Kid,' the opening of Samuel Barber's luminous 'Knoxville - Summer of 1915,' 'Tonight' from Bernstein's 'West Side Story,' the opening of George Rochberg's masterful Violin Concerto, and John Adams's incredibly popular 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine.' Plus selections by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Edward MacDowell, George Whitefield Chadwick, Amy Beach, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, Charles Wakefield Cadman, George Gershwin, George Antheil, Zez Confrey, William Schuman, John Cage, Gunther Schuller, Alan Hovhaness, Elliott Carter and Philip Glass. The performances are more than acceptable and in some instances ('Knoxville,' Rochberg's Violin Concerto) definitive.

I would heartily recommend this set (especially at its superbudget price) to anyone wanting to know more about the history of American classical music -- Scherer is a master of cogent, clear prose -- and wishing to hear examples of the broad range it has taken over the past couple of centuries. I can easily imagine this set being used in a music appreciation course. And I am sure it will spark interest in the newcomer to this branch of classical music.

2 CDs TT=ca. 160 mins.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Very beautiful
Good sound quality on my system
Poor sound quality

The Beauty of Barber

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000027DW8
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Tracks:

Adiago For Strings
Andante
Andante Tranquillo
Con Moto
First Essay For Orchestra
Knoxville: Summer Of 1915 - Golden
Second Essay For Orchestra
Adagio For Strings (Vocal Version) - London Voices

Customer Reviews:

Very beautiful.......2007-01-14

I love this music so much! Samuel Barber was a genius. I think the performance here is great; I don't see what the 1-star reviewer is complaining about. It is true, though, that the first track is too quiet. I, however, have edited the file and turned up its volume so I can keep my stereo volume at a moderate level.

Good sound quality on my system.......2006-03-13

Found this CD to be beautiful and soothing. The quality of play is very good on my system.

Poor sound quality.......2005-08-27

Barber's Adagio is one of the most beautiful pieces of classical music in existence. This album doesn't give it fair treatment. The sound quality is terrible; it's thin and lacks depth, and the average volume of the first track is so low that you have to crank your stereo to the point of hearing hissing white noise.

I recommend passing this one by, and buying a different version.

Barber: Knoxville-Summer of 1915; Copland: Eight Poems of Emily Dickenson

Average customer rating:

The Works of Two American Giants
A Sleeper

Barber: Knoxville-Summer of 1915; Copland: Eight Poems of Emily Dickenson

Manufacturer: EMI Records [All429]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000002RUU
Release Date: 1995-06-13

Tracks:

Quiet City for tpt, E hn and strs - Maurice Murphy/Christine Pendrill
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: I. Nature, the gentlest mother ('To David Diamond')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: II. There came a wind like a bugle ('To Elliott Cater')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: III. The world feels dusty ('To Alexei Haieff')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: IV. Heart, we will forget him ('To Marcelle De Manziarly')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: V. Dear March, come in! ('To Juan Orrego Salas')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VI. Sleep is supposed to be ('To Irving Fine')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VII. Going to Heaven ('To Lukas Foss')
Eight Poems Of Emily Dickinson: VIII. The Chariot ('To Arthur Berger')
Adagio For Strs, Op.11 - London SO/Thomas
From Four Songs, Op.13: I. Nocturne
From Four Songs, Op.13: III. Sure on this shining night
Knoxville: Summer Of 1915 ('In Memory Of My Father')

Customer Reviews:

The Works of Two American Giants.......2006-01-16

This very fine recording is one that has strangely disappeared from the available list of CDs and for those fortunate to find it will wonder, as I do, why it is no longer in ready circulation. The recital honors the parallel lives of Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990) and Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981) and with the selections included demonstrates that despite their stylistic differences, each of these composers cared deeply about communication.

And the communication could be in few finer hands than those of Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and of Barbara Hendricks, whose voice in the song cycles was at its prime in 1995 when the recording was made. The recital opens with Copland's 'Quiet City' in as moody and atmospheric performance as any on record. Tilson Thomas does not rush this work but allows it to breathe. The first chair solo work by Trumpet Maurice Murphy and English Horn Christine Pendrill are particularly fine. Following a period of grateful silence thanks to the engineers, the next 'set' is Copland's setting of 'Eight Poems by Emily Dickinson'. Hendricks' voice is rich and pliant and the moods of the poems come across well. She often sacrifices enunciation for open vowel production, but it matters little: the poems are lovely.

Samuel Barber's often performed and used 'Adagio for Strings' follows in an oddly restrained reading by Tilson Thomas. The angst is still present but the spectacular power of the final ascending climax doesn't tear at the heart. But in many ways this straightforward reading makes the familiar piece more clearly a classic than an emotional button. Hendricks then collaborates with two of Barber's 'Four Songs', and her 'Sure on this shining night' is so focused and delicate that she surpasses most of her fellow colleague's versions. Likewise the final masterful 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915' is lyrical and finds all aspects of Agee's poetic story equally important. Tilson Thomas' support is some of the finest on this record.

Recommendation: look for this recording and buy when you find it. It is a treasure trove that desperately deserves re-mastering. Grady Harp, January 06

A Sleeper.......2003-09-26

This CD offers a creative approach in programming: a major orchestral and vocal work by each of two American major composers - Copland and Barber. While they were contemporaries whose music was deemed accessible, they were vastly different: Copland virtually invented an American sound, while Barber's was firmly rooted in European tradition. So this is an album of contrast and diversity. What is consistent is the excellence of the interpretaion and performance. While the orchestral works are very satisfying (but who can compete with Schippers 'Adagio'?), the real distinction is in the vocal contributions of Barbara Hendricks. The Dickenson poems are full of vitality as they should be. The Barber 'Nocturne'is particularly haunting. But the masterpiece is the 'Knoxville'; Leontyne Price is considered to 'own' this piece, and there are other hightly regarded performances, but this one gives them real competition. Much depends on voice preferences, but I don't think you can go wrong with this CD and I recommend it highly.