Souvenirs: Piano Classics

Editorial Reviews
Peter Davis, The New York Times
a pianist of cultivation and an obvious taste for diverse musical styles

Joseph Horowitz, The New York Times
Mr. Rundle proved to be an aggressive, confident performer with a big sound

Album Description
Roger Rundle plays piano favorites. Total Time 71:07. Roger Rundle began musical studies at an early age in a farming community in Kansas. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in piano from the University of Kansas where his principal teacher was Richard Angeletti, and his masters degree in piano with Louis Crowder at the University of Connecticut. He lived in New York City for twenty years before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He was musical director of the Bel Canto Opera from 1970-1972, where he prepared and accompanied performances, and was on the faculty of the School for Singers in Katonah, New York from 1974-1988. His work with singers and his virtuosic technique have made him a sought-after teacher and coach, and he has received wide critical acclaim as an accompanist. Roger made his New York recital debut in Carnegie Recital Hall in 1977, and returned for numerous subsequent recitals. His acclaim as a solo recital artist lead him to a lauded performance at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.

Mr. Rundle is also an excellent chamber musician and composer whose works have been performed in New York's major concert halls. He has toured extensively throughout North America with Community Concerts, most recently as collaborating artist for the soprano/baritone duo Overholt/Velta. He tours regularly on Cunard's Five-Star Cruise Ships where his repertoire includes piano recitals, chamber music concerts and opera productions.

Recorded and produced by Marnie Hall. Recorded at Swope Recital Hall, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, January 1998. DDD. Cover Photo: Roger Rundle in Santorini, Greece. Graphic Design: Marnie Hall. This recording is made possible with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. © Leonarda Productions, Inc., 1998. All rights reserved.

Souvenirs: Piano Classics

Tracks:

Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro energico
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro vivace e leggiero
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Adagio mesto
Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Fuga: Allegro con spirito
Excursions, Op 20: Un poco allegro
Excursions, Op 20: In Slow Blues Tempo
Excursions, Op 20: Allegretto
Excursions, Op 20: Allegro molto
Nocturne, Op 33: Moderato
Three Sketches: Lovesong: Tempo di valse: Allegretto
Three Sketches: To My Steinway (To No.220601): Adagio
Three Sketches: Minuet: Tempo di minuetto
Interlude I ('For Jeanne'): Adagio, ma non troppo
Ballade, Op 46: Restless
Souvenirs, Op 28: Waltz: tempo di valse, Allegro con brio
Souvenirs, Op 28: Schottische: tempo si Schottische, Allegro ma non troppo
Souvenirs, Op 28: Pas de deux: Adagio
Souvenirs, Op 28: Two-Step: Allegro molto
Souvenirs, Op 28: Hesitation Tango: Con moto
Souvenirs, Op 28: Galop: Allegro molto

Customer Reviews:

Barber: genius; Pollack: great, but not as great as John Browning.......2007-05-29

This CD includes a mini biography of the composer and a short description of each piece, which is always a plus. I am still amazed he wrote those 3 sketches at such a young age! Barber's music is always lyrical, even when it sounds a-tonal. While John Browning is the most popular interpreter of Barber's music, Pollack also does a wonderful job. The only problem I have is his playing of the Nocturne, op. 33, because he plays it very heavily and too fast, much unlike a nocturne should be.

A variety of emotions.......2006-11-16

This CD collects all the published piano music of Samuel Barber, including the highly regarded masterwork SONATA, OP.26. The SONATA, in four movements, goes from the severe in the first movement to the openly joyous in the second; the third movement builds slowly to a mighty grumbling before just as slowly resigning itself to a quiet resolve. The final movement is all energy, requiring great technical prowess, which pianist Daniel Pollack has. It's an excellent performance.

Some of the other pieces, though less demanding, are most enjoyable. The four EXCURSIONS explore "regional idioms," including boogie-woogie, the blues, and country roots (this last is delightful). The four SOUVENIRS show Barber at his most humorous: the Waltz is laugh-out-loud charming, and the Hesitation Tango is just that - and very compelling. This is an excellent CD all around, from the varied and intelligent music of Barber to the assured, lyrical interpretations by Pollack. Highly recommended.

Samuel Barber's Piano Music.......2003-11-26

Samuel Barber's(1910 --1981) music is lyrical, romantic, and accessible. But his music still manages to be challenging. As is the case with many American composers, Barber tried to develop an American voice by combining art music with American themes derived from jazz and American popular culture. Again, Barber wrote in an accessible way using sophisticated 20th century compositional techniques.

Although he did not compose a great deal of music for solo piano, much of what Barber did write is outstanding. This disc on the budget-priced Naxos label includes all of Barber's published solo piano music performed by Daniel Pollack. Pollack knows and plays this music well indeed. He performed Barber's piano sonata at the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958. The CD includes detailed, insightful liner notes by Victor and Marina Ledin.

Barber's piano sonata op 26 (1946) is the highlight of this disc and is a work that has become an important part of the piano repertory. The work is in four movements, and in it Barber uses an expansive musical vocabulary which includes serial composition. The work is romantic and virtuosic and immediately appealing. Vladimir Horowitz championed this music and it has been recorded many times.

The sonata opens with a two-note falling figure with the second note heavily accented that becomes the basis for the opening allegro movement. Throughout the first movement, loud, virtuosic passages alternate with quieter sections, with feathery piano writing in the instrument's high register. The two-note figure is prominent at the end of the movement with a shift in accent to the first note of the pair. The second movement is a short, light scherzo which picks up on the quieter portions of the first movement. The third movement, an adagio, is spare and minimalist. It rises to a large climax before the music falls away pensively over a walking bass. The last movement is a fugue which begins rapidly and quickly develops to a frenzied, cataclysmic conclusion.

The other extended works on this CD are two piano suites. The first suite, "Excursions" Op. 20 (1942-1944) was also championed by Horowitz. It consists of four movements based upon American jazz and popular song. The first movement features a syncopated theme with repeated notes over a boogie-woogie theme in the bass. The second movemement develops as a blues, with a slow-drag theme that becomes more prominent as the movement progresses. It reminded me of a Gershwin piano prelude. The third movement consists of a lyrical, rippling theme in a moderate tempo which undergoes brief variations. The final movement is a foot-stomping barn dance. The movement reminded me of a conservative Charles Ives.

The other suite in this collection is titled "Souvenirs", op 28 (1951-1952) It consists of six short dance movements. (Barber used it for a ballet.) I loved this piece. It is deliberately anachronistic in character and is a throw-back to a hotel-style elegance just before WW I. In listening to this suite, I tried to think of the tone it intended to convey. Some people find this music light and frivolus while others find it ironic. I heard it as loving, but detached and a bit distant. Barber is trying deliberately to recreate a musical experience in an idiom that is no longer his. I think the tone is affectionate, with the music played straight (rather than satirically), but with a distinct feeling of looking back. Thus the title, "Souvenirs".

There are a number of short pieces on this CD including three sketches dating from Barber's 13th year. I enjoyed the Nocturne which is highly chromatic (op. 33) and the late Ballade, Op. 46 among these short works.

This disc is part of the Naxos "American Classics" series. It will allow the listener to get to know some great works of 20th century American piano music.

What's the rush?.......2003-10-22

I can't tell if the overly fast tempi on much of this recording is so all the works could be jammed onto one CD, or if Mr. Pollack was dared to see how fast he could go. To be fair, he starts the Sonata at the metronome marking in the score (which some performers do not) but he doesn't keep it there. He pulls back tremendously in the second theme, then rushes through much of the closing theme so quickly as if to suggest that hearing the notes is not the important part. I'm impressed at how fast he can play certain parts (and the scherzo), but what honestly is the point? Passages in the development and coda are reduced to a blurry mash. Along with this he punches many notes (first and third movements), especially in the base, that have no need for added emphasis. Barber provided enough angularity to this piece that just playing it gets the message - and the music - across. The fourth movement, I will concede, is as admirable as any other performance.
The rest of the works on the CD fare better - in areas where a change in tempo might be tasteful, Mr. Pollack seems invariably to push ahead but it doesn't sabotage anything as badly as the Sonata.
Despite the tempting price, a newcomer to Barber's piano output would do better to buy John Browning's recording and come back to this one later for a different viewpoint.

Barber at a bargain.......2001-09-10

Daniel Pollack has a special relationship to this music. He premiered Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in the Soviet Union, and played it to wildly enthusiastic acclaim during the 1958 Tschaikovsky competition. That was the year Cliburn took the Gold medal, but Pollack was also a winner, and was very well received.

I am very familiar with the Sonata. I performed it at my senior piano recital in college. I also had the pleasure of playing most of the Sonata for Daniel Pollack when I competed in a college-based piano competition. It was a special pleasure for me to learn how intimately he knows this piece. Pollack plays the Sonata with tremendous energy, brilliance and passion. The recorded sound of this Naxos CD is bright and a little too resonant for my taste. Still, the performance is thoroughly exciting, sometimes to the point of being overwhelmingly powerful (for example, at the end of the fugue).

I own eleven recordings of the Barber Piano Sonata on CD or LP. Although Pollack's is not my first choice, his playing is so exciting and powerful that I regard his performance as special and worth having. My favorites are Cliburn and Horowitz. My other recordings include Garrick Ohlsson, Willis Deloney, two by John Browning, Leo McCawley, Earl Wild, Peter Lawson and Ruth Laredo. It would be difficult to rank these performances, as they all have something special to commend them. Pollack's passion and abandon stand out in this group.

The other Barber works are less familiar to me, and so I am less able to comment on them. They seem beautifully played and, again, only hampered a little by the overly resonant sound.

Tracks:

Adagio For Strings Op.11 - Leonard Slatkin
Overture, Op.5 - Leonard Slatkin
I. Allegro - Elmar Oliveira
II. Andante - Elmar Oliveira
III. Presto In Moto Perpetuo - Elmar Oliveira
Essay For Orchestra Op.12 - Leonard Slatkin
Second Essay For Orchestra Op.17 - Leonard Slatkin
Medea's Dance Of Vengeance Op.23a - Leonard Slatkin

Tracks:

I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Israela Margalit
II. Adagio-Presto - Israela Margalit
III. Alegro Appassionato - Israela Margalit
Canzone For Flute & Piano Op.38a - Israela Margalit
I. Un Poco Allegro - Israela Margalit
II. In Slow Blues Tempo - Israela Margalit
III. Allegretto - Israela Margalit
IV. Allegro Molto - Israela Margalit
Nocturne (Homage To John Field) Op.33 - Israela Margalit
Slow And Indolent - Stanley Drucker
Faster - Stanley Drucker
Lively, Still Faster - Stanley Drucker
With Motion, As Before - Stanley Drucker
Joyous And Flowing - Stanley Drucker
Tempo I - Stanley Drucker
Pas De Deux - Israela Margalit
Two-Step - Israela Margalit
Third Essay For Orchestra Op.47 - Leonard Slatkin

Customer Reviews:

Most valuable Barber set. .......2005-09-14

Having virtually all the shorter orchestral works plus some of the best chamber and instrumental music makes this set more than its weight in gold -- especially now that EMI has sensibly lowered the price even further by issuing it on its Gemini line. This set also fills a void as an adjunct to RCA France's two-disc release of the First Symphony and three concertos with Slatkin and the St. Louis Orchestra. (Or, if you don't want the symphony -- and which Barber lover wouldn't? -- RCA now has those concertos on one very full mid-price disc.) The only major work missing is Knoxville, which no one coming to Barber's music should be without. But, depending on what you want with that heavenly masterpiece, there are ways to easily solve that problem.

Of course, the fiercest competition to these recordings comes from Naxos through Marin Alsop and the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Both Alsop and Slatkin have Barber's music fully in their blood. They practically breathe and move by the pulse and cadence of the music, and they intuitively understand the yin and yang of its dramatic and the rhapsodic qualities.

Slatkin lingers more than Alsop in the quieter spots, and takes bigger risks, yet maintains greater control and tension in overall pacing. In The School for Scandal Overture, a wider ranging ride through the valleys and expertly picking up the pace through the dramatic peaks shows Slatkin at his best. He adopts takes an even broader pace than Alsop out of the gate in the Third Essay. Once past any thought of ponderousness, one hears how Slatkin links the notes like Alsop, phrasing the lines and even that percussion solo at the onset, taking more time than her in projecting the emotive weight and complexity, which is so easy to miss in this work. The results, as in Alsop's reading, are enormous, but richer and more rewarding.

The other way this set sweeps the field is through the impressive stable of chamber and instrumental works - nearly a full disc's worth. Each performance is very good to exceptional, and together yields a much wider (and welcome) range and variety in Barber's music than we are normally accorded. All of the players deserve special mention: cellist Alan Stepansky and pianist Isreala Margalit in the Cello Sonata; flautist Jeanne Baxtresser and Margalit in the Canzone for flute and piano; Margalit as soloist in Excursions, Nocturne in homage to John Field and two pieces arranged from the piano four-hands Souvenirs; and Baxtresser, Joseph Robinson, clarinetist Stanley Drucker, bassoonist Judith Le Clair and French hornist Philip Myers in Summer Music.

The Violin Concerto is the only also-ran, and not because it is a bad performance - just a less than fully persuasive one. Soloist Elmar Oliveira combines Isaac Stern's firm tone with some of the Kyoko Takezawa's rhapsodic approaches to the melodies. The key word here is "some." As good as Oliviera is - and he is very good - where he lacks is striding one leg on Stern's stay-on-the-rail firmness to the work's structure and the other on Takezawa wider-ranging, more mercurial jaunt around the course. He's astride two horses with very different temperaments and riding styles, not giving either mount his full attention but doing all he can just to keep them together. Slatkin gives this piece his all, but Oliviera holds him back. When you hear Slatkin and Takezawa, you hear how Slatkin and his team are willing to deliver a much more exciting a ride.

Gottschalk, Vol.2: A Night in the Tropics; Grand Tarantelle

Average customer rating:

One of the best CD's we've EVER bought
FABULOUS!

Gottschalk, Vol.2: A Night in the Tropics; Grand Tarantelle

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Caprices | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023DB
Release Date: 1993-05-11

Tracks:

One Piano, Four Hands: La Jota Aragonese
One Piano, Four Hands: Souvenirs d'Andalousie
One Piano, Four Hands: La Gallina
One Piano, Four Hands: Orfa
One Piano, Four Hands: Marche De Nuit
One Piano, Four Hands: Printemps d'Amour
One Piano, Four Hands: Radieuse
One Piano, Four Hands: Rnds-moi
One Piano, Four Hands: Tremolo
One Piano, Four Hands: L'Etincelle
One Piano, Four Hands: Ses Yeux
Two Pianos: The Union
Two Pianos: Grande Tarentelle For Piano & Orchestra - A Night In The Tropics
Two Pianos: Andante
Two Pianos: Allegro Moderato

Customer Reviews:

One of the best CD's we've EVER bought.......2001-01-07

Talk about a mood lifter! Play this one at your next party.

FABULOUS!.......1999-10-18

An invigorating and joyful musical assortment

Average customer rating:

reacquaintance with waxman
Old Acquaintances

Franz Waxman: Old Aquaintances

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004GOX9
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Tracks:

Old Acquaintances: The Young in Heart: Suite - Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Old Acquaintance: Elegy - Moderato
Old Acquaintances: Huckleberry Finn: Overture - Allegro con brio
Old Acquaintances: Come Back, Little Sheba: Reminiscences - Nostalgically
Auld Lang Syne: Auld Lang Syne: Variations: Eine Kleine Nichtmusik - Rondo
Auld Lang Syne: Auld Lang Syne: Variations - Moonlight Concerto - Adagio
Auld Lang Syne: Auld Lang Syne: Variations - Chaconne a Son Gout - Stately
Auld Lang Syne: Auld Lang Syne: Variation - Hommage to Shostakofiev - Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Allegro Moderato
Old Acquaintances: Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Good Morning - Lengo
Old Acquaintances: Promenade - Gracioso
Old Acquaintances: Playtime - Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Bedtime Story: The Fairy Princess - Andante
Old Acquaintances: The Song of Terezin: The Little Mouse - Scherzando
Old Acquaintances: The Spirit of St. Louis: Barnstorming - Allegro con spirito
Old Acquaintances: The Little Shoes - Allegro
Old Acquaintances: Four Leaf Clover - Andante
Old Acquaintances: The Little Soldier - March
Old Acquaintances: The Golden Heart - Lento
Old Acquaintances: The Pony - Allegro

Customer Reviews:

reacquaintance with waxman.......2007-04-22

i honestly don't know why i bought this cd. but there is a great deal to love about it. the main thing i love is the first suite, which is highlighted by an arrangement of his 'elegy for strings' for piano trio.

the second surprise is the witty set of variations on 'auld lang syne'.

the third is the price--very affordable and not a disappointment.

Old Acquaintances.......2000-04-29

The violinist on this recording really is supurb. You have entered the world of a pro that feels his music, commits to the era it was written for,and understands the composers emotions. The Four Scenes of Childhood express a special sentiment. What a treat to hear the first of its recording.

Average customer rating:

Out Classics, Vol. 2: Stepping Out

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000003G16
Release Date: 1996-09-17

Tracks:

The Nutcracker-The Waltz Of The Flowers - Chicago S.O./Morton Gould
Rodeo-Hoe Down - Morton Gould And His Orchestra
Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.11: Giga - Guildhall Strs. Ens./Robert Salter
Waltz, Op.18: 'Grande Valse Brillante' - Geza Anda
Symphony No. 5-II: Menuetto - Chicago S.O./Fritz Reiner
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: I. March - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: II. Corante - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: III. Pavan - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: IV. Morris Dance - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: V. Galliard - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: VI. La Volta - The Julian Bream Consort
Courtly Dances from Gloriana: VII. March - The Julian Bream Consort
Water Music Suite No. 1: V. Passepied - Melvyn Tan
Swan Lake-Act III: Mazurka - St. Louis S.O./Leonard Slatkin
Danse Macabre - The Philadelphia Orch./Eugene Ormandy
Don't Fence Me In (From Hollywood Canteen) - Richard Hayman
Souvenirs (For Piano Four-Hands)-Hesitation Tango - John Browning/Leonard Slatkin
Three Dances From 'Fancy Free': I. Galop - Boston Pops Orch./Arthur Fiedler
Three Dances From 'Fancy Free': II. Waltz - Boston Pops Orch./Arthur Fiedler
Three Dances From 'Fancy Free': III. Danzon - Boston Pops Orch./Arthur Fiedler
Water Music Suite No.1: IX. Hornpipe - Melvyn Tan
Swan Lake-Act II: Allegro Moderato ('Danse Des Cygnes') - St. Louis S.O.
Swan Lake-Act III: Danse Espagnole - St. Louis S.O.
Souvenirs-Waltz - John Browning/Leonard Slatkin
Croncerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 9: Gavotta - Guildhall Strs. Ens./Robert Salter
Sleeping Beauty-Waltz - Chicago S.O./Morton Gould

Average customer rating:

World Classics: Spain

Manufacturer: Columbia River Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music

Tracks:

Six Spanish Dances: No.1 - Rena Kyriakou
Six Spanish Dances: No.2 - Rena Kyriakou
Six Spanish Dances: No.3 - Rena Kyriakou
Six Spanish Dances: No.4 - Rena Kyriakou
Six Spanish Dances: No.5 - Rena Kyriakou
Six Spanish Dances: No.6 - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Granada (Allegretto) - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Cataluna (Allegro) - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Sevilla (Allegro Moderato) - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Cadiz (Allegretto Ma Non Troppo) - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Aragon (Allegro) - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola Op.47: Cuba (Allegro) - Rena Kyriakou
Four Seasons: Spring - Rena Kyriakou
Four Seasons: Summer - Rena Kyriakou
Four Seasons: Autumn - Rena Kyriakou
Four Seasons: Winter - Rena Kyriakou
Spanish Souvenirs: Prld - Rena Kyriakou
Spanish Souvenirs: Asturias - Rena Kyriakou

Tracks:

Espana: Feuilles D'Album - Rena Kyriakou
Cataluna - Irina Kircher
Rhap Cubana Op.66 - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola: Sevilla - Irina Kircher
Amalia: Mazurka Op.95 - Rena Kyriakou
Cantos De Espana: Cordoba - Irina Kircher
Rhap Espanola - Rena Kyriakou
Ste Espanola: Granada - Irina Kircher
Tango Espanol - Rena Kyriakou
Espanola: Tango No.2 - Irina Kircher
Soleta - Collegium Vocale Coloniensis/Wolfgang Fromme
Danza - Anna Barbara Speckner
Chevelier Mult Estez Quariz - Otto Pingel
Toccata De Ma Esquerra - Helmuth Rilling
Pavane - Helmuth Rilling
Tiento in D - Helmuth Rilling

Tracks:

La Justa - Collegium Vocale Coloniensis/Wolfgang Fromme
The Marriage Of Luis Alonso: Intermedio - Wurttemberg PO/Salvador Mas-Conde
Goyescas, No.1: Los Requiebros - Marylene Dosse
Goyescas, No.2: Coloquio En La Reja - Marylene Dosse
Goyescas, No.3: El Fandango De Candil - Marylene Dosse
Goyescas, No.4: Que Jas Om La Maja Y El Ruisenor - Marylene Dosse
Goyescas, No.5: El Amor Y La Muerte - Marylene Dosse
Goyescas, No.6: Epilogo (Ser Del Espectro) - Marylene Dosse
Allegro De Con - Marylene Dosse

Tracks:

Danzas Espanola Op.37: Minuetto - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Oriental - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Zarabanda - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Villanesca in G - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Andaluza in e - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Melancolica (Rondella Aragonesa) - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Valenciana O Calesera - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Asturiana in C - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: El Rocio - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Danse Triste in G - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Zambra in g - Marylene Dosse
Danzas Espanola Op.37: Arabesca - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.1: in C - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.2: in C - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.3: in E/El Fandango De Candil - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.4: in G/Quejas O La Maya - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.5: in a - Marylene Dosse
Estudios Expresivos: No.6: in F/Epilogo - Marylene Dosse
Danza Lenta - Marylene Dosse
Nino Dios D'Amor Herido - Collegium Vocale Coloniensis/Wolfgang Fromme

Tracks:

Gypsy Melodies, Op.20 - Hans Kalafusz
Vars On 'Marlborough' - Irina Kircher
Andante - Artur Faihs/Frida Faihs
Allegretto - Artur Faihs/Frida Faihs
Gran Jota - Pedro Ibanez
Empuries: Sardana - Wurttemberg CO/Salvador Mas-Conde
O Cuam Dulce/Aire De Danza - Otto Pingel
Aire De Danza/Fantastic Dances: Exhaltation - Collegium Musicum Krefeld/Robert Haass/Wurttemberg Phil/Salvador Mas-Conde
Fantastic Dances: Ensueno - Wurttemberg Phil/Salvador Mas-Conde
Fantastic Dances: Orgia - Wurttemberg Phil/Salvador Mas-Conde
Garrotin - Irina Kircher
Soleares - Irina Kircher
Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Que Ravio Y Meuro - Collegium Vocale Coloniensis/Wolfgang Fromme
Kyrie - Chor Of The Stiftskirche Einsiedeln/Magister Pater Roman Bannwart

Average customer rating:

Barber's wonderful, beautiful music
A broad survey of Barber's wonderful music

Capricorn-The Samuel Barber Collection

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001SJA
Release Date: 1996-02-20

Tracks:

Capricorn Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Trumpet & Orchestra: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Capricorn Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Trumpet & Orchestra: Allegretto
Capricorn Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Trumpet & Orchestra: Allegro Con Brio
Canzone
Fadograph Of A Yestern Scene
Cave Of The Heart: Media's Dance Of Vengeance
Adagio For Strings
Souvenirs: Hesitation Waltz
Hermit Songs: St. Ita's Vision
Hermit Songs: The Heavenly Banquet
Hermit Songs: The Crucifixion
Hermit Songs: Sea-Snatch
Hermit Songs: Promiscuity
Hermit Songs: The Monk And His Cat
Hermit Songs: The Praises Of God
Hermit Songs: The Desire For Hermitage
To Be Sung On Water
The Lovers: Tonight I Can Write
Summer Music

Customer Reviews:

Barber's wonderful, beautiful music.......2001-11-21

This is a collection of 19 works by Samuel Barber. It contains some very popular Barber works (Adagio for Strings, Medea's Meditation), some lesser known (Summer Music, The Lovers) and many I'd never heard before. All are beautiful.

This album's version of Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance is surprisingly slow tempoed. It caught me off balance for a bit but it was a nice change of pace. The Hermit Songs were all instrumental only -- also nice for a change of pace. One song, "To Be Sung on Water" performed by the Oregon Repertory Singers, was absolutely glorious. "Hesitation Waltz", a piano duet, is an unusual work with emotional undercurrents that I didn't notice at first listen.

It's almost impossible these days to find an album which contains something other than the four or five most popular Barber works. This one showcases 17 of those hard-to-find pieces. What a great album!

A broad survey of Barber's wonderful music.......2001-04-05

In the history of 20th century classical music, Samuel Barber is a well-loved, if not "revolutionary", figure. His skill with the craft of melody is justly famous, and his work reflects elegance and craft; however, he was also a master of contrapuntal composition ("Adagio for Strings", aka the second movement of his String Quartet, could be used in advanced composition classes as a masterpiece of counterpoint) and a great orchestrator. His Capricorn Concerto is a jewel-like triple concerto (trumpet, flute and oboe with strings), full of rhythm, movement and light-- the second movement is especially brilliant, with delightful interplay among the solo instruments and a lovely slow section (soft strings and an exquisitely melancholy short oboe solo). The rest of the selections are also well-done and welcome (if the "Adagio" is overplayed, the "Hermit Songs" are just not performed enough!). A nice collection of Barber's high-quality oeuvre.

Music for the Crib: Classics for Baby (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Music for the Crib: Classics for Baby (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Columbia River Ent.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Airs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004SUA4
Release Date: 2000-05-09

Average customer rating:

A mini-survey of Barber in run-of-the-mill performances
Mist Valued and Varied Barber Collection

Barber: Orchestral and Chamber Works

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Adagio, Op.11 - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin
The School For Scandal - Ov, Op.5 - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin
Vn Con, Op.14: I. Allegro - Elmar Oliveira
Vn Con, Op.14: II. Andante - Elmar Oliveira
Vn Con, Op.14: III. Presto In Moto Perpetuo - Elmar Oliveira
Essay, Op.12 - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin
Second Essay, Op.17 - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin
Medea's Dance Of Vengeance, Op.23a - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin

Tracks:

Vc Son, Op.6: I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Alan Stepansky/Israela Margalit
Vc Son, Op.6: II. Adagio - Presto - Alan Stepansky/Israela Margalit
Vc Son, Op.6: III. Allegro Appassionato - Alan Stepansky/Israela Margalit
Canzone, Op.38a - Jeanne Baxtresser/Israela Margalit
Excursion, Op.20: I. Un Poco Allegro - Israela Margalit
Excursion, Op.20: II. In Slow Blues Tempo - Israela Margalit
Excursion, Op.20: III. Allegretto - Israela Margalit
Excursion, Op.20: IV. Allegro Molto - Israela Margalit
Nocturne (Homage To John Field), Op.33 - Israela Margalit
Summer Music, Op.31: Slow And Indolent - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Summer Music, Op.31: Faster - - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Summer Music, Op.31: Lively, Still Faster - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Summer Music, Op.31: With Motion, As Before - - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Summer Music, Op.31: Joyous And Flowing - - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Summer Music, Op.31: Tempo I. - Jeanne Baxtresser/Joseph Robinson/Stanley Drucker/Judith Le Clair/Philip Myers
Souvenirs, Op.28: Pas De Deux - Israela Margalit
Souvenirs, Op.28: Two-step - Israela Margalit
Third Essay, Op.47 - Saint Louis SO/Leonard Statkin

Customer Reviews:

A mini-survey of Barber in run-of-the-mill performances.......2006-06-13

Leoonard Slatkin became EMI's house conductor of American music in the Eighties when he and the St. Louis Sym. were riding high, a native son reviving the fortunes of an underdog but pourd Midwest orchestra. The recordings they made of Copland and Barber are still more or less the only ones EMI has, and now the latter are reissued on this bargain two-fer. Everything here is pleasant, but it's the survey that's appealing more than Slatkin's ho-hum readings.

Elmar Oliveira gives a nicely shaped but emotionally tepid, not very rhythmic account of the popular Violin Concerto, with nothign special happening in Slatkin's accompaniment. Foursquare rhythm also keeps the Essay for Orchestra and Medea's Dance of Vengeance eathbound. Even the famous Adagio for Strings, despite the lovely tone of the St. Louis violins, lacks intensity. But that was Slatkin's way with most music. He seems wildly overpraised twenty years later. The unusual pieces here, such as the brief Canzone for Flute and Piano and the jaunty Excursions for solo piano demonstrate Barber's sweet melodic gift, which never deserted him even if the mainstream of modernism did.

Mist Valued and Varied Barber Collection.......2005-09-14

(If this set is unavailable, don't fret. EMI has sensibly reissued the same collection in its Gemeni series at a lower cost than this one originally was. This is practically the same review you'll see there.)

Having virtually all the shorter orchestral works plus some of the best chamber and instrumental music makes this set more than its weight in gold. This set also fills a void as an adjunct to RCA France's two-disc release of the First Symphony and three concertos with Slatkin and the St. Louis Orchestra. (Or, if you don't want the symphony -- and which Barber lover wouldn't? -- RCA now has those concertos on one very full mid-price disc.) The only major work missing is Knoxville, which no one coming to Barber's music should be without. But, depending on what you want with that heavenly masterpiece, there are ways to easily solve that problem.

Of course, the fiercest competition to these recordings comes from Naxos through Marin Alsop and the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Both Alsop and Slatkin have Barber's music fully in their blood. They practically breathe and move by the pulse and cadence of the music, and they intuitively understand the yin and yang of its dramatic and the rhapsodic qualities.

Slatkin lingers more than Alsop in the quieter spots, and takes bigger risks, yet maintains greater control and tension in overall pacing. In The School for Scandal Overture, a wider ranging ride through the valleys and expertly picking up the pace through the dramatic peaks shows Slatkin at his best. He adopts takes an even broader pace than Alsop out of the gate in the Third Essay. Once past any thought of ponderousness, one hears how Slatkin links the notes like Alsop, phrasing the lines and even that percussion solo at the onset, taking more time than her in projecting the emotive weight and complexity, which is so easy to miss in this work. The results, as in Alsop's reading, are enormous, but richer and more rewarding.

The other way this set sweeps the field is through the impressive stable of chamber and instrumental works - nearly a full disc's worth. Each performance is very good to exceptional, and together yields a much wider (and welcome) range and variety in Barber's music than we are normally accorded. All of the players deserve special mention: cellist Alan Stepansky and pianist Isreala Margalit in the Cello Sonata; flautist Jeanne Baxtresser and Margalit in the Canzone for flute and piano; Margalit as soloist in Excursions, Nocturne in homage to John Field and two pieces arranged from the piano four-hands Souvenirs; and Baxtresser, Joseph Robinson, clarinetist Stanley Drucker, bassoonist Judith Le Clair and French hornist Philip Myers in Summer Music.

The Violin Concerto is the only also-ran, and not because it is a bad performance - just a less than fully persuasive one. Soloist Elmar Oliveira combines Isaac Stern's firm tone with some of the Kyoko Takezawa's rhapsodic approaches to the melodies. The key word here is "some." As good as Oliviera is - and he is very good - where he lacks is striding one leg on Stern's stay-on-the-rail firmness to the work's structure and the other on Takezawa wider-ranging, more mercurial jaunt around the course. He's astride two horses with very different temperaments and riding styles, not giving either mount his full attention but doing all he can just to keep them together. Slatkin gives this piece his all, but Oliviera holds him back. When you hear Slatkin and Takezawa, you hear how Slatkin and his team are willing to deliver a much more exciting a ride.