Composer: Samuel Barber
Performer: Kyoko Takezawa, Steven Isserlis, John Browning
Orchestra: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: RCA
Catalogue: 82876658322
Release: 2005
Size: 315 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Violin Concerto, Op. 14
01. Allegro
02. Andante
03. Presto in moto perpetuo
Cello Concerto, Op. 22
04. Allegro moderato
05. Andante sostenuto
06. Molto allegro e appassionato
Piano Concerto Op. 38
07. I. Allegro appassionato
08. II. Canzone. Moderato
09. III. Allegro molto
Barber: Concertos in RCA Red Seal’s “Classics Library” series is a combination of selections drawn from two full-price discs taken from RCA’s 1990s back catalog of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra recordings. Leonard Slatkin is an ace commander of the orchestra when it comes to the specialized business of supporting soloists. Although he has since moved on, Slatkin’s relationship with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was his happiest, and certainly the most productive in terms of recordings.
The disc opens with Kyoko Takezawa’s delicate traversal of Barber’s Violin Concerto, Op. 14. As good as it is, it is hard to imagine how this recording could outdistance the incredible popularity of Gil Shaham’s Deutsche Grammophon recording of the same work. Takezawa’s finely balanced, seamless combination of Romantic warmth with no-nonsense Classicality is preferred to Shaham’s more emotionally overwrought reading. However, from an engineering standpoint it is obvious that the soloist could stand to be a little louder in relation to the orchestra, a situation that remains much the same in Steven Isserlis’ radiant reading of Barber’s Cello Concerto, Op. 22.
The Barber Piano Concerto, Op. 38, performance here won the Grammy award for best concerto performance in 1991, and it is easy to see why. This was pianist John Browning’s second go-round in this work on record, the first being with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra in 1964, an explosive and angry performance that has never appeared on CD. As with many “second chance” recordings of great soloists in works that are still new at the first juncture, Browning has grown into the piece. Though he retains the force and frustration that make this work Barber’s most atypical concerto, Browning mines its lyric vein even more effectively than in his first recording. Although remastered in the 24-bit realm, this new disc does not seem to have the same punch and presence that the old 16-bit version did. Notwithstanding this minor caveat, at mid-price Barber: Concertos is an incredible bargain, and if one would like to have these works grouped together on a single disc, it is an ideal option.