SAMUEL BARBER
Cello Concerto op 22
Medea Ballet Suite op 29
Adagio for Strings
Wendy Warner (cello)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Marin Alsop
Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, May 2000
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS
8.559088 [65:58]
Crotchet
AmazonUK
AmazonUS
Two immediate thoughts: the music of the American composer Samuel Barber
(1910-81) is grossly under-performed (and indeed under-rated); and the cello
concerto repertoire is relatively meagre. On hearing this Barber concerto
(composed in 1945, and subsequently revised) for the first time, why, I asked
myself, is it not up there with Dvorak, Elgar and Shostakovich? It's an
absolutely terrific work, quite able to hold its own in such exalted company,
and a fine example of what I would call Barber's distinctively spiced
late-romantic idiom. It is magnificently laid out for the solo instrument,
and though he employs a large orchestra the composer's judgement in matters
of balance is faultless. If, like me, you love his Violin Concerto,
you will find this cello concerto equally pleasing.
It begins with a modest, even inconsequential, orchestral dialogue, which
the soloist joins in almost casual fashion; but from this seemingly slender
material a majestic first movement structure soon emerges. The second movement
siciliano is ravishingly beautiful, and the molto allegro e
appassionato finale bristles with energy and emotion. Soloist Wendy Warner
combines authoritative virtuosity with a sure grasp of the work's character.
The Medea ballet suite is another unfamiliar masterpiece, dating from
about the same time as the concerto. In his setting of the Greek legend,
Barber produced a powerful, uncompromising score, tender and dramatic by
turns, and notable for many brilliant features of orchestration, both subtle
and strident. The disc is completed by the Adagio for Strings, which
receives a straightforward performance happily devoid of excessive
sentimentality.
The popularity of this latter piece irked Barber - and justifiably so (it
almost put him in the sad league of 'one work' composers). Still, if its
inclusion persuades the punters to invest in this record, they will be richly
rewarded (at a give-away Naxos price!) by the rest of the disc, which forms
part of a series of Barber recordings undertaken by the American conductor
Marin Alsop, who has suddenly burst into prominence over here among the still
small band of women conductors. On this disc she secures splendid playing
from the RSNO, and the recorded sound is well-nigh perfect.
Adrian Smith
