Samuel Barber / Thomas Schippers

an exceptional recording!

this is an absolutely phenomenal collection of compositions recorded by thomas schippers during his regrettably short career. there is not a false note among the offerings. for me, "medea's meditation and dance of vengeance" is the highlight of the disc. however, all of the other pieces are at a similar plane of all-around excellence both from performance and recording standpoints.

all in all, a disc to own, treasure, and play again and again!! May 6, 2008

A Perfect Barber Disc

I own many cds of Samuel Barber, and of all of them, this is my favorite.
I can't think of a single complaint, except perhaps that the inclusion of small pieces by three other composers was somewhat unnecessary, and broke the mood of the Barber.

There are several must-have CDs of Sam Barber's music, and this one is at the very top. I consider this to be the best single CD of his music, though you will no doubt need a supplement or two.

This CD contains the famous Adagio for Strings, op.11, the scena "Andromache's Farewell," the Intermezzo from his opera 'Vanessa,' Medea's Meditation & Dance of Vengeance, the School for Scandal overture, and a very powerful Second Essay for Orchestra.

A newer release from Sony containing orchestral and chamber works duplicates the performance of this Adagio, but both CDs are different and are must-haves.

As for the music itself, how can you not be moved by Martina Arroyo's spellbinding singing in "Andromache's Farewell," or the Bartokian "Medea's Dance"? or the the great sadness of this Adagio, which is perhaps the best there is. Thomas Schippers and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra play Barber as true believers in his greatness. Barber deserves the title as The Greatest American Composer. Perhaps a title like that is subjective, but Barber's greatness is not. August 27, 2007

A sparkling remaster

This disc showcases a spectrum of talent from the young Schippers before his tragic death. However, contrary to the other reviews, this is not the best version of the "Adagio" that I have ever heard. The other tracks on the disc are a nice complement and some are hard to find on CD. All in all, a decent buy. December 29, 2006

Great music and a great package

This reissue of material conducted by Thomas Schippers shows the great style he had conducting Barber's (and Menotti's) work. This CD has been reissued again with a more mundane package as part of the RCA red seal releases. This disc presents background information and pictures that are a delight to the collector and will interest the listener new to this music. Its sound is good for its age and packages material together very well. November 9, 2006

An American Classic

"Romantic" is an inadequate word to describe Barber's music. It sounds peculiarly American, like Copland's. You can't imagine that a European could have written it. And he was able to compress a great deal of emotion into relatively brief works. The Essays for Orchestra and Medea's Dance are almost symphonies in themselves. My only criticism is that this disc omits "Knoxville: Summer of 1915", which I seem to recall was on the old LP, with Leontyne Price as the soloist. Thomas Schippers appears to have been the ideal interpreter of this composer. What a pity that he died young. December 3, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...