REVIEWS OF THE BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO

Carnegi at 100: Big Night, Big Names
—By Donal Henahan, New York Times, 1990

"Mr. Perlman's approach to the Barber, which dates from 1939, did not overlook its languid recollections of Romanticism but even his commitment and great artistry could not make the piece hang together throughout. The last movement Presto in Moto Perpetuo bustled with virtuoso activity but went nowhere, one of those busy but perpetually motionless movements that so many composers tack onto the end of their concertos."

Soloist Frank imbues concerto with eloquence
—By Daniel Webster, Inquirer Music

"It would have been interesting to end the piece there, for the rattly final movement, with its bursitis-inviting rush through scales, is as empty as anything possible from a major composer. Even Frank's super-speed did not conceal the vacuity of the final, but her aplomb and flashing bow arm won as ovation."