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Samuel Barber / Thomas Schippers
Samuel Barber, Alban Berg, Vincent d' Indy
Samuel Barber / Thomas Schippers
Genres: Pop, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (9) - Disc #1

This classic disc has been the prime recommendation for Barber's short orchestral pieces since the early 1960s. Remastered onto CD for the first time, and with the addition of some other items conducted by Thomas Schippe...  more »

     

CD Details


Synopsis

Amazon.com
This classic disc has been the prime recommendation for Barber's short orchestral pieces since the early 1960s. Remastered onto CD for the first time, and with the addition of some other items conducted by Thomas Schippers, it sounds better than ever. All of Barber's music is blessed with the virtues of impeccable craftsmanship, tunefulness, and, above all, brevity. Although a Romantic by temperament, Barber had the gift of being able to fit a lot of emotional impact into a very small space. The famous Adagio for Strings and the Second Essay actually sound much bigger than they are, but they don't go on a second too long--which means you can play them again right away! You'll want to. --David Hurwitz
 

CD Reviews

Best Adagio for Strings Recording
Ioanna Borgos | USA | 02/22/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I personally own every recording released on Barber - well, all most every one. This by far is the most lucid, intense, and true to form version of The Adagio for Strings that is out there. It is not by chance however. This recording was done by Schippers under Barber's direct supervision. Thus, this is the way Barber wanted it to sound. Barber is said to have composed this piece after reading The Georgics, specifically a piece regarding the motion and flow of water. The beauty of this piece of music, especially this version which captures this fluidity, is in its perfect symmetry and simplicity. Like a Fibanocci Series, Barber's piece aescetically spirals in a beautiful set of notes which increasingly grow more intense with each new set. It as if Shippers has caught the feel of a trickle of water becoming a small stream, joining with more water and feeding into a river - then emptying into a delta and merging into the Ocean. One has to cry at the intensity as the peice comes to its climax and there emerges a profound stillness...like entering some private spiritual universe. I've never heard another peice of music that comes close except for Mozart's Don Giovanni."
An extraordinary talent, gone but not forgotten
Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 03/05/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"May we never forget Thomas Schippers. One of the greatest of all American conductors, he graced this earth with his brilliance until 1977, when he died of lung cancer at the age of 47.
This CD, which contains recordings from the early to mid '60's, is a wonderful tribute to him.He championed, and had a great affinity for the music of Samuel Barber, as this disc will prove. His performance of the gorgeous "Adagio for Strings" is sublime, and by far the best I've heard. I also love "Medea's Dance of Vengance" and "The School for Scandal" Overture. "Andromache's Farewell" features Martina Arroyo (early in her career, at age 27), and her powerful soprano is perfect for this piece.On this CD one also gets a short and sprightly Gian Carlo Menotti overture, a terrific (also very short) Berg interlude, and the closing d'Indy composition is slow, peaceful, and dreamy.
The booklet has a fair amount of information, including a piece by Menotti, and photos of Schippers (as handsome as a movie star), and Barber.
The total time is 71:22 and the sound is excellent. This was a surprise gift for which I'm very grateful, and I'll be playing it often...now, and way into the future."
Great Recording Conducted by Thomas Schippers
D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 08/01/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thomas Schippers was a talented conductor who died before his time in 1977. He helped found the Spoleto Festival with Gian Carlo Menoti and had a close affinity for the music of Samuel Barber (although they did not like each other much). Too few of Schippers' recordings have been transfered to CD, but some of his best are included on this disc. This is arguably the best recording of Medea's Dance of Vengence and particularly fine recordings of Barber's Adagio and School For Scandal Overture. If you have an interest in the music of Samuel Barber, you can't do better than the recordings presented here."