Steven Prutsman, Marin Alsop - Barber: Piano concerto, Medea's Meditation & Dance of Vengeance (2002)

This disc is another installment in the Naxos Barber series, conducted by Marin Alsop. It has some interesting, little-heard music: Die Natalie, variations on Christmas carols, and the Commando March. Both show Barber's versatility and Die Natalie contains some deft counterpoint as Barber creates some remarkable music on those themes.
The Piano concerto is well played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the soloist, Stephan Prutsman. Mr. Prutsman is a very gifted pianist and has an interesting, more aggressive approach to the concerto. This recording is comparable to those by John Browning, the dedicatee of the concerto, but this recording is not quite as lyrical as Browning and has a harder edge to the playing.
Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, part of a longer ballet written for Martha Graham, is well played but cannot match the recording by Thomas Schippers for its intensity and atmosphere of fear. So although these are not among the best recording they are of interest and are appealing. The reasonable price for this disc and the overall quality recommend it highly.