Barber: Violin Concerto; Adagio for Strings; Second Essay for Orchestra; Piano Concerto

The CD debut of the first recording of the surprisingly astringent Piano Concerto makes an admirable foil for Stern’s vintage performance of the lyrical Violin Concerto. There is much to savour too in Schippers’s dynamic accounts of the youthful School for Scandal Overture and powerful Second Essay. By today’s standards the recordings lack a certain degree of richness, though the performances are surely strong enough to compensate for this deficiency.

Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:39 pm

COMPOSERS: Barber
LABELS: Sony Theta
WORKS: Violin Concerto; Adagio for Strings; Second Essay for Orchestra; Piano Concerto
PERFORMER: John Browning (piano), Isaac Stern (violin); various orchestras and conductors
CATALOGUE NO: SMK 60004 ADD

The CD debut of the first recording of the surprisingly astringent Piano Concerto makes an admirable foil for Stern’s vintage performance of the lyrical Violin Concerto. There is much to savour too in Schippers’s dynamic accounts of the youthful School for Scandal Overture and powerful Second Essay. By today’s standards the recordings lack a certain degree of richness, though the performances are surely strong enough to compensate for this deficiency.

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