Extensively active as composer, performer, academician, musicologist, and publicist, Barbara Harbach's contributions to American music have been noteworthy. MSR Classics is releasing seven complete volumes devoted to Harbach's rather extensive and diverse repertoire. In this, the first volume of the collection, listeners are introduced to Harbach's orchestral works, which include two symphonies (one based on the literary works of Willa Cather); a three-movement, quasi-concerto for violin and orchestra; a rhapsody for oboe and string orchestra; and a Reverie for string orchestra. Regrettably, the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Kirk Trevor does little to enlist fans for Harbach's music. Its performance throughout the album is substantially lackluster and inspiring, with mediocre intonation, sloppy ensemble, and a sound quality not considerably superior to many college orchestras. Despite the descriptive titles that Harbach gives to virtually every movement of her symphony works, there's little emotional or character evocation to tie the performance to the descriptions. In Frontier Fancies, Harbach's work for violin and orchestra, it is relatively clear to listeners that Harbach seeks to depict the American West, yet the orchestra's metronomic, blasé interpretation does not succeed in bringing the composer's vision to life. Violin soloist Frantisek Novotny also struggles to play with any idiomatic flair. Listeners can only hope that subsequent volumes will deliver more captivating performances of Harbach's worthwhile compositions.
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