Search - Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin :: Rhapsody in Blue / Appalachian Spring

Great adagio, good Rhapsody, decent Spring

D. Wijngaarden | Nijmegen, The Netherlands | 11/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The adagio for strings is performed beautifully - very delicate, with a confidently joyful ending that's very breakable at the same time. This alone is worth the price of the CD, which is a good thing, since I have heard better performances of the two other pieces.Both "rhapsody" and "spring" are to sterile, to classical to my taste. (And this is just a matter of taste! If you prefer clean/perfect performances, don't read on but buy this now.) Rhapsody is saved by the piano, however, played quite jazzy and with some very interresting tempi. The orchestra misses some swing, unfortunately. (Then again, I've always preferred the version for two pianos.) As for Appalachian Spring, the orchestra sounds a bit like a caged bird - the music (especially the wind sections) never jumps out to soar in freedom, rather being content to perform an image of the real thing."

Laggy, draggy Bernstein can't match his youth

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/11/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I try to buy all Bernstein recordings, and this one, his digital remaake of some veyr famous early recordings, is slow, inflated, and jost not anywhere near a match for the hip, Jazzy Bernstein that sprang on the scene and single-handedly revitalized classic music in America. Maybe worth owning as a legacy recording, but missalbe otherwise."