Samuel Barber

* 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
* Medea's Dance of Vengeance, op. 23a

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

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 MHK 62837).  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 Jarvi 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 Medea 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 Medea 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.

Steve Schwartz