Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Themes
Petite berceuse
Three Sketches
Prelude to a tragic dramma
Fresh from West Chester
To Aunt Maime on Her Birthday
Essay I
Essay II
Interlude I
Interlude II
Souvenirs, op. 28
After the concert
Ballade, op. 46

Giampaolo Nuti, piano
Daniela de Santis, piano

The piano compositions of Samuel Barber (West Chester, Pennsylvania 1910 – New York 1981) with few exceptions are not commonly part of repertoire internationally. After the Barber CD issued in 2010 with the label Stradivarius, (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and Three Essays; Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Giampaolo Nuti, piano, Daniel Kawka, conductor; STR 33814) pianist Giampaolo Nuti has here recorded a second program of Barber’s music, this time for the most part consisting of rare piano solo pieces (especially early and childhood compositions) and première recordings. The compositions on this CD range from 1920 to 1977, from the composer’s childhood and adolescence, through his later years: the Ballade is Barber’s last complete piano piece.