Samuel Barber rehearsing his Symphony No. 2 (BSO)

Samuel Barber rehearsing his Second Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for performances April 6-7, 1951.

[@yjlconductor]

Thank you for uploading this important historical document!

[@wilsonochoa4899]

How great to have this. It's always great to hear a composer work on his own music (especially when it is new-ish) to give clues as to what he wanted beyond what is written on the page. Composers aren't always the best interpreters of their own music, but there is still a lot to be learned from their own performances. It is still a mystery (to me anyway) why Barber later decided this piece wasn't up to snuff, and withdrew it. Luckily, calmer heads prevailed after his passing, and they have restored it to the catalogue (and there have been some fine recordings).

[@scottriddell2314]

I love several of Barber’s works, including this one, so many thanks for posting this and the link to the cd set (which I just bought).

[@MrInterestingthings]

Wow ! What a treasure !

[@barberbach5883]

Yes, this is fantastic. I look forward to getting to know this symphony.

[@h0ll0wm9n]

Wow -- what a find! Thx for uploading.

[@estuardo6251]

This is gold, where on earth did you find this? Especially since he destroyed it!

[@johnrandolph6121]

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[@transitny]

I was taken by how aggressively he goes through the fast passages compared to other conductors.

[@Twentythousandlps]

Barber only conducted in this period and had a low opinion of his own conducting. He also found the notion of going around the world and teaching the same music to one orchestra after another tedious. After this period he dropped conducting, teaching, and performing - just composing. The rehearsal was taken from a regular NBC radio show of the BSO in rehearsal which took place on Mondays, lasting a half hour. I read an attack here on the Boston Symphony's execution by someone who is apparently unaware the orchestra is reading this for the first time.

[@bkkershner]

I am more shocked at the playing, especially in the strings. Just a mess, pitches, clarity, obvious lack of giving a shit. Not Barber's fault, from what I hear. There is no video, which would help.

[@johnrandolph6121]

I agree that it is really rough. I'm not sure that Barber is totally not to blame.... he was known as a good conductor. If you listen to the few commercial recordings he also made, they are pretty sloppy too. And he totally gave up conducting after this.

[@Obaysch]

Compare this to Britten rehearsals, a composer who could brilliantly conduct. Barber has nothing to contribute.

[@fabriziomancinelli5714]

Obaysch in fact Sam Barber was a composer who only on occasion conducted, but as you can for sure hear in the depth of his music, he was a giant in the 20th Century music, much underrated compared to Britten, brilliant indeed but overrated under too many aspects.

[@estuardo6251]

He never liked conducting I believe - this was probably out of necessity.

[@josephmarcello7481]

@@fabriziomancinelli5714 Agreed, really, there is no comparison between the two creators.. even speaking as an anglophile, with the deep knowledge of the contemporary tradition from von Williams through the present, Britain was a hit and miss phenomenon, whose heart was never quite audible enough in his music with the exception of a few pieces, one of them being the humble the beautiful ceremony of carols, encounter distinction to his overblown war requiem and his very superficial output in so many other genres, perhaps the most truly rot being the music written for Julian bream and Peter pairs in both solo guitar and guitar and voice settings, where all is so preciously exposed. I doubt the world will recall one single Britain melody, if the term can even be applied to his music, whereas there are very few people who will not be able to recall, with deep emotion a handful at least of barbers supremely lyrical and sublime melodies, not to mention his exceedingly refined harmonic gift, for which I can only imagine Benjamin Britain would have given his right arm.