It was to be expected that Samuel Barber should win all the prizes and receive the important commissions that he did. The Adagio for strings may be easily his most famous piece, but most of the others exert a related appeal. His Piano Concerto has a telling mixture of dramatic outbursts and lyrical repose, and it is, again, no surprise that, as the sleeve-note reminds us, it was so often performed when it was new.
On CBS (backed by Isaac Stern in Barber's Violin Concerto) John Browning gives a brilliant account of the keyboard part, and the Cleveland Orchestra, under George Szell, is as firmly disciplined as anyone might wish. But the recording, now 20 years old, has not worn well and the sound of both piano and orchestra is shallow and restricted. The new ASV offers a performance fully comparable in force and conviction, and vastly better recorded sound. It seems odd that Joselson is never heard from in this country. My only previous sighting of him was in Prokofiev's Sonatas Nos. 2 and 8 (RCA ARK11570, 9/76—nla), both of which he performed admirably.
The Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a from Medea should not be confused with the Medea Suite, Op. 23 recorded by Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rocheser Orchestra on Mercury Golden Imports SRI75012 (4/82), this being a revision and re-orchestration of two movements therefrom. Again, the music is very effective. Indeed, I find the Meditation one of Barber's finest passages. Its thoughts are hardly new, but they are presented with well-mannered skill. And it is no wonder that the Dance of Vengeance was for a time a favourite showpiece with American orchestras.'