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CD Review

Samuel Barber

Hits

• Overture to "The School for Scandal," Op. 5
• Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 *
• First Essay, Op. 12
• Second Essay, Op. 17
• Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
• Médea's Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a

* Sylvia McNair, soprano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra/Yoel Levi
Telarc CD-80250 65:29

Summary for the Busy Executive: McNair superb; Levi ok.

Yet another anthology of Barber hits, this time with Yoel Levi and Atlanta. You have many choices for this repertoire, most notably Thomas Schippers with the New York Philharmonic, to my mind the finest recorded performances of this material (Sony MHK62837). The orchestra plays well, more clearly than New York, but minus the weight, which I feel Barber's music assumes to its advantage. Atlanta sounds at times a little thin. Even more serious, Levi's interpretations in general stall - no gas. The Overture to "The School for Scandal", for example, should percolate and jump. Levi seems to concentrate not on rhythm (as he should), but on texture. Levi, combined with Telarc's engineering wizards, presents so transparent an ensemble, I can usually tell at any given moment which individual instruments sound, but I don't care. The performance has as much animation as a bottle of Nyquil. The First Essay pokes along as well, although, to be fair, so does almost every other performance of this work. The piece splits into two main parts, a lyrical and a rhythmic. Essentially, Barber shows off the same musical idea in two contexts. Conductors don't seem to have much luck with the rhythmic part; as far as I know, only Howard Hanson nails it, although Järvi and the Detroit come close. The Second Essay moves as if reined in or as if the passion running through the work somehow amounts to bad taste. On the other hand, the quicker parts show signs of life. In fact, the piece's climax (about four minutes from the end) is fine indeed, even galvanizing. If only Levi had awakened earlier.

The Adagio receives an interesting performance. Here, Levi's restraint produces something noble. If I prefer Schippers, it's because I miss his fire and the big string sound of the New York Philharmonic. I'm not sure you'd want the CD for the Adagio alone; nevertheless Levi gives here one of his most satisfying interpretations. The Médea has its moments. Levi does justice to the louder climaxes, but the work just lies there in the quieter passages - no intensity. The work depicts how Médea moves from woman abandoned to murderer. Despite some jolts, Levi's reading lacks any of this psychology and plays it out as two different pieces - one loud, the other soft - that have nothing to do with one another.

Knoxville tells another story. McNair lifts the CD out of its mostly-comfortable rut. I consider this the best-sung Knoxville on record. McNair's voice sounds as sweet as a mockingbird's. Her diction is excellent; unlike almost every other big-name performance, you can actually understand the words without recourse to written text. She declaims beautifully and with full comprehension of James Agee's prose. Still, she's by herself. Levi seems to have turned the orchestra into a gaggle of zombies, and McNair can't save it. Given the calibre of her performance, one feels keenly a missed opportunity. If only she had a partner no longer in hibernation.

All in all, I wish for more enterprise from recording companies. After all, there's little reason to acquire this collection (unless you love McNair) in the face of current competition. However, Barber wrote more than six pieces, and it's time we heard some of the others.

Copyright © 1999, Steve Schwartz