The Barber Chair

Started by Szykneij, August 13, 2007, 06:50:40 AM

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Mirror Image

#240
Quote from: vers la flamme on November 04, 2019, 02:26:19 PM
Bump for Sam Barber, a great composer...?

I am getting into his music slowly, here and there. I have not heard many of his pieces, but those I have heard I do like much. The Piano Concerto is probably my favorite of his works, the slow movement is amazing. I also quite like the first symphony, which I heard he modeled after Sibelius' 7th, and I can see it (there is something of Sibelius in almost every American and English composer who came after him). I just heard and enjoyed the tone poem Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance. And then I really like Excursions as played by Vladimir Horowitz, though I need to hear it in more modern sound. The works I am most curious to hear next are the violin concerto, Knoxville, and the string quartet(s?) – I think he is a very talented and perhaps underlooked composer. There is something of Ravel in him. He really understands the value of beauty and purity in music. He is one of few American composers that I have a serious interest in. I'm looking to up that number, being that I am an American myself, but I will start where I already have some footing.

Anyway, recommendations for good recordings of the violin concerto and Knoxville would be appreciated. Has anyone been listening to Sam Barber lately?

Alright! And, now, you're getting into another one of my favorite composers. I think a lot of what you said is true that Barber's music is beautiful and this is what makes his music so attractive, but there are plenty of emotional moments in his music and many pieces that are also quite haunting. For Excursions and his other piano works, I'd check out John Browning's recording on the Music Masters label (sadly, out-of-print but I imagine you can find it cheaply). The Dawn Upshaw/David Zinman recording of Knoxville: Summer of 1915 has not been bettered, IMHO. Hilary Hahn's recording of the Violin Concerto is, hands down, my favorite of all the performances I've heard, so seek her recording out (it's coupled with a less memorable concerto from Edgar Meyer). I would also check out his Cello Concerto and the best recording I've of this work has been with Anne Gastinel on Naive (I'm not sure if it's OOP, but it's worth seeking) and if you can't find that recording for a decent price then the BIS recording with Christian Poltéra with Andrew Litton is definitely a great purchase (the Cello Concerto is coupled with the early Cello Sonata and it's also a remarkable work). Barber only composed one SQ. Also, the songs are worth getting, especially the Thomas Hampson set on Deutsche Grammophon. For the symphonies (two in all), Marin Alsop will fit the bill nicely. Don't forget about the opera, Vanessa and works like The Lovers and Prayers of Kierkegaard. All of the Essays for Orchestra should be essential listens as well. Anyway, I love Barber's music and if you can find it or stream it, then check out the documentary, Absolute Beauty. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen on any composer. Much ground is covered and I believe you'll come a way with a better understanding of the composer.

Special edit: Man, now I want to listen to some Barber! Thanks a lot! It's all your fault! ;) ;D

vers la flamme

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 04, 2019, 03:29:36 PM
Alright! And, now, you're getting into another one of my favorite composers. I think a lot of what you said is true that Barber's music is beautiful and this is what makes his music so attractive, but there are plenty of emotional moments in his music and many pieces that are also quite haunting. For Excursions and his other piano works, I'd check out John Browning's recording on the Music Masters label (sadly, out-of-print but I imagine you can find it cheaply). The Dawn Upshaw/David Zinman recording of Knoxville: Summer of 1915 has not been bettered, IMHO. Hilary Hahn's recording of the Violin Concerto is, hands down, my favorite of all the performances I've heard, so seek her recording out (it's coupled with a less memorable concerto from Edgar Meyer). I would also check out his Cello Concerto and the best recording I've of this work has been with Anne Gastinel on Naive (I'm not sure if it's OOP, but it's worth seeking) and if you can't find that recording for a decent price then the BIS recording with Christian Poltéra with Andrew Litton is definitely a great purchase (the Cello Concerto is coupled with the early Cello Sonata and it's also a remarkable work). Barber only composed one SQ. Also, the songs are worth getting, especially the Thomas Hampson set on Deutsche Grammophon. For the symphonies (two in all), Marin Alsop will fit the bill nicely. Don't forget about the opera, Vanessa and works like The Lovers and Prayers of Kierkegaard. All of the Essays for Orchestra should be essential listens as well. Anyway, I love Barber's music and if you can find it or stream it, then check out the documentary, Absolute Beauty. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen on any composer. Much ground is covered and I believe you'll come a way with a better understanding of the composer.

Special edit: Man, now I want to listen to some Barber! Thanks a lot! It's all your fault! ;) ;D

Thanks for the detailed response! Go listen to some Barber now, then!  :P

I have the Alsop disc with the symphonies and I like it, though I haven't yet heard the 2nd symphony. I'll have to check out the other recordings you mention. I'm a big fan of the Upshaw/Zinman Górecki 3rd, so I am well aware of the potency of that combo, that sounds like a winner. As for Ms. Hahn, I think at this rate I might as well just buy the Sony white 5CD box with her complete recordings for that label, sounds like there is a lot of great stuff on it. The documentary you mention also sounds great. I'll have to check it out.

Mirror Image

Quote from: vers la flamme on November 04, 2019, 03:46:57 PM
Thanks for the detailed response! Go listen to some Barber now, then!  :P

I have the Alsop disc with the symphonies and I like it, though I haven't yet heard the 2nd symphony. I'll have to check out the other recordings you mention. I'm a big fan of the Upshaw/Zinman Górecki 3rd, so I am well aware of the potency of that combo, that sounds like a winner. As for Ms. Hahn, I think at this rate I might as well just buy the Sony white 5CD box with her complete recordings for that label, sounds like there is a lot of great stuff on it. The documentary you mention also sounds great. I'll have to check it out.

You're welcome. Yeah, that Hilary Hahn box set seems like a good way to acquire some of her best work. The problem with Barber's discography is so many of the great performances are spread out on different labels and there's not one box that'll capture it all, but this really could be said of any composer.

André

I listened to Knoxville this week (Jill Gomez/Richard Hickox), and ordered the Gauvin/Alsop on Naxos. It has the Toccata festiva, and also the 2nd and 3rd Essay for Orchestra. I already have Alsop's disc of the symphonies and First Essay, so that will round off that section of his output. For the piano and violin concertos I very much like the Telarc disc.

I wish I could be enthusiastic about getting the Upshaw Knoxville, but it is inconguously and most ungenerously coupled IMO. Maybe it will surface in another incarnation some day. Meanwhile, Price and Steber are very much to my taste. Both ladies worked with the composer (Steber had commissioned the work), and give beautiful accounts of this masterpiece. I especially treasure Price's wide-eyed, androgynous way with the text. She evokes classic films that celebrate childhood innocence like Night of the Hunter or To Kill a Mockingbird.

Mirror Image

Quote from: André on November 04, 2019, 04:27:40 PM
I listened to Knoxville this week (Jill Gomez/Richard Hickox), and ordered the Gauvin/Alsop on Naxos. It has the Toccata festiva, and also the 2nd and 3rd Essay for Orchestra. I already have Alsop's disc of the symphonies and First Essay, so that will round off that section of his output. For the piano and violin concertos I very much like the Telarc disc.

I wish I could be enthusiastic about getting the Upshaw Knoxville, but it is inconguously and most ungenerously coupled IMO. Maybe it will surface in another incarnation some day. Meanwhile, Price and Steber are very much to my taste. Both ladies worked with the composer (Steber had commissioned the work), and give beautiful accounts of this masterpiece. I especially treasure Price's wide-eyed, androgynous way with the text. She evokes classic films that celebrate childhood innocence like Night of the Hunter or To Kill a Mockingbird.

But you can find the Upshaw/Zinman recording cheaply these days so buying it just for Knoxville isn't a big deal.

aligreto




I have just finished listening to the above album. It is basically by way of introduction for me to Barber's music. I have found it to be a wonderful journey.


Knoxville 

A fellow member here recommended that I begin, by way of introduction to this composer, with Knoxville. That recommendation, coupled with the directorship of Alsop, has led me here. I immediately liked the tone and orchestration of Knoxville. It is exciting, atmospheric, poignant and very engaging. One can not but be enchanted by the wonderful voice of Gauvin who performs more than admirably here. The vocal and orchestral elements are very well balanced in a very fine recording. The musical language is very engaging. This is indeed a very fine work.


Second Essay for Orchestra

I really like this work. The musical language is very interesting and engaging and the scoring is both powerful and gripping. This is powerful music and music making. The scoring for the woodwinds is  wonderful. The music is very exciting and engaging and is well driven throughout. The powerful drive forward towards the conclusion is wonderfully relentless.


Third Essay for Orchestra

This is a very fine work and I took an immediate liking to it. I was initially attracted by the scoring which I felt was very imaginative. However, I was eventually drawn into the musical language which I found to be very engaging and which made for compelling listening. This presentation is powerful and would appear to be very sympathetic to this intriguing music.


Toccata Festiva Op. 36

This is quite an interesting, engaging and powerful work. I like the tone and the atmosphere of it; its span is from the lyrical to the tense and dramatic. The musical language is just wonderful!

Madiel

As I mentioned on the WAYLTN thread, I think that Knoxville and the Essays are among Barber's top works so that album is a great starting point.

Though there's plenty of other good music waiting for you too!
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

aligreto

Barber: Cello Concerto [Gastinel/Brown]





Other than the above Naxos CD I have only two other works by Barber and the Cello Concerto is one of those.

This is a really very fine work. The scoring is imaginative and inventive and I really like how the cello takes up and expands upon the opening orchestral phrases. The music and scoring are both expansive and this is well developed throughout the movement. The infusion of tension, drama and excitement is also very well done. The movement has a wonderfully powerful and satisfying conclusion. The slow movement is wonderfully scored. It is wonderfully lyrical with a keen sense of yearning. The music is powerfully emotionally engaging. Both Gastinel and Brown do it great justice. The music in the final movement is inventive and intriguing, powerful and absorbing. There is also something quirky about it. The movement and the work gradually builds towards a powerful and exciting resolution.

vandermolen

Quote from: André on November 04, 2019, 04:27:40 PM
I listened to Knoxville this week (Jill Gomez/Richard Hickox), and ordered the Gauvin/Alsop on Naxos. It has the Toccata festiva, and also the 2nd and 3rd Essay for Orchestra. I already have Alsop's disc of the symphonies and First Essay, so that will round off that section of his output. For the piano and violin concertos I very much like the Telarc disc.

I wish I could be enthusiastic about getting the Upshaw Knoxville, but it is inconguously and most ungenerously coupled IMO. Maybe it will surface in another incarnation some day. Meanwhile, Price and Steber are very much to my taste. Both ladies worked with the composer (Steber had commissioned the work), and give beautiful accounts of this masterpiece. I especially treasure Price's wide-eyed, androgynous way with the text. She evokes classic films that celebrate childhood innocence like Night of the Hunter or To Kill a Mockingbird.
That Naxos CD featuring Knoxville and the Essays is one of my favourite Barber CDs.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

aligreto

Quote from: vandermolen on September 18, 2021, 06:36:55 AM
That Naxos CD featuring Knoxville and the Essays is one of my favourite Barber CDs.

Yes, definitely a cracker!

aligreto

Barber: Summer Music Op. 31





Very pleasant, atmospheric and evocative pastoral music.

aligreto

I have just finished listening to this collection of Barber's music under the baton of Alsop:





Cello Concerto:

On first listen to this version of this work and I was not convinced by the entire performance. I felt that the cellist, Warner, was a very capable cellist but that her presentation lacked warmth, lyricism and fluidity. Alsop does a good enough job with the orchestral accompaniment but the whole presentation feels just a bit laboured to me. The recording is made in a somewhat dry acoustic.


Medea Ballet Suite:

This is my first listen to this music. I really like this work. I like the musical language, the orchestration and the wonderful atmosphere of the work. All of these elements contribute to a mixed variety of drama, tension, atmosphere, power, excitement and lyricism to the music. I find the work to be most engaging. I have no other version to compare it with but it seems to me that this is a very fine presentation.


Adagio for Strings:

Even if you are not familiar with the music of Barber you will have heard this music somewhere. The emotional strength of the work is derived from the wonderful melodic lines, harmonies and counterpoint, all of which are basic building blocks in the foundation of a very solid and serene work. I like this version; it is not overly emotional, sentimental or saccharine.

vandermolen

#252
I first came across the Cello Concerto, brilliantly performed by Zara Nelsova with Barber conducting, on a fabulous old Decca Eclipse LP, where it was imaginatively coupled with Rawsthorne's equally fine Second Piano Concerto - if my memory is correct I bought in at a classical music record shop (they did once exist) near to South Kensington Underground Station. The Barber has been reissued on an excellent Naxos Historical CD:

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

aligreto

Quote from: vandermolen on October 10, 2021, 12:32:19 PM
I first came across the Cello Concerto, brilliantly performed by Zara Nelsova with Barber conducting, on a fabulous old Decca Eclipse LP, where it was imaginatively coupled with Rawsthorne's equally fine Second Piano Concerto - if my memory is correct I bought in at a classical music record shop (they did once exist) near to South Kensington Underground Station. The Barber has been reissued on an excellent Naxos Historical CD:


Good to know, Jeffrey. Thank you for the information and recommendation.

vandermolen

Quote from: aligreto on October 10, 2021, 01:19:53 PM
Good to know, Jeffrey. Thank you for the information and recommendation.
I think that you'd like the Naxos disc Fergus, if you don't already know it.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Madiel

Quote from: aligreto on October 10, 2021, 07:45:06 AM
I have just finished listening to this collection of Barber's music under the baton of Alsop:





Cello Concerto:

On first listen to this version of this work and I was not convinced by the entire performance. I felt that the cellist, Warner, was a very capable cellist but that her presentation lacked warmth, lyricism and fluidity. Alsop does a good enough job with the orchestral accompaniment but the whole presentation feels just a bit laboured to me. The recording is made in a somewhat dry acoustic.


Medea Ballet Suite:

This is my first listen to this music. I really like this work. I like the musical language, the orchestration and the wonderful atmosphere of the work. All of these elements contribute to a mixed variety of drama, tension, atmosphere, power, excitement and lyricism to the music. I find the work to be most engaging. I have no other version to compare it with but it seems to me that this is a very fine presentation.


Adagio for Strings:

Even if you are not familiar with the music of Barber you will have heard this music somewhere. The emotional strength of the work is derived from the wonderful melodic lines, harmonies and counterpoint, all of which are basic building blocks in the foundation of a very solid and serene work. I like this version; it is not overly emotional, sentimental or saccharine.

I definitely remember liking Medea, which I only know thanks to the Alsop series.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

vandermolen

#256
Quote from: Madiel on October 11, 2021, 09:28:39 PM
I definitely remember liking Medea, which I only know thanks to the Alsop series.
Me too - though I have a number of recordings of it.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

aligreto

Barber: I have finished listening to this CD and here are my thoughts and observations on its contents:





Capricorn Concerto: I like the musical language in this work. The orchestration, although often sparse, is very engaging and appealing. In terms of tone and atmosphere I particularly like the restless and agitated nature of the music throughout the work. The middle section of the slow movement, a trio-like passage is quite intriguing. I like the contrasting lift in tone in the final movement; the restlessness is still there but the atmosphere is somewhat lighter; the brass and woodwinds lead the way in this regard. I found this to be quite an absorbing and intriguing work.

A Hand of Bridge: I do not play Bridge and along with the other references in the participant's monologues I was never engaged with this work at all. I do not like that style of writing for voice.

Mutations from Bach: This is a Chorale type composition with fairly obvious influences. It is short and it works for me.

Intermezzo from "Vanessa": This is a short but an enchanting and very appealing and attractive melody that is very well orchestrated.

Canzonetta for Oboe and Strings: This is an enchanting and haunting piece of music. The musical language is rather straightforward and ostensibly simple but the writing and the scoring produce an almost other-worldly experience. It is melodically and harmonically very rich with a large element of poignancy which makes it very attractive and engaging. A wonderful musical composition.

Fadograph of a Yestern Scene: This is another intriguing and enchanting short work. Once again the apparent simplicity of the work and its musical language belies a much more profound overall effect. This is a wonderful work and presentation. There are great variations in dynamics, emotional swells and almost Holst-like mystical episodes and Alsop and forces give a wonderful account of this range.

Madiel

I listened to the cello sonata last night on a somewhat random basis (Poltera/Stott recording). Most engaging.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

kyjo

Quote from: Madiel on November 05, 2021, 11:23:43 PM
I listened to the cello sonata last night on a somewhat random basis (Poltera/Stott recording). Most engaging.

Indeed, a wonderfully passionate and lyrical work from the young Barber. Come to think of it, I don't think there are any works by him that I'm not fond of - a remarkably consistent composer. Both symphonies, the 3 concerti, the 3 Essays, both operas (yes!), Music for a Scene from Shelley, Souvenirs, I could go on....
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff