''Classical Barbra'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, released in February 1976. It was recorded in 1973 and consists of songs by classical European composers and includes tracks sung in English, French,

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, German, Italian and Latin. The music is performed by the

Columbia Symphony Orchestra The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was an orchestra formed by Columbia Records for the purpose of making recordings. In the 1950s, it provided a vehicle for some of Columbia's better known conductors and recording artists to record using only compan ...

, conducted by Claus Ogerman. Leonard Bernstein wrote of the album, "Barbra Streisand's natural ability to make music takes her over to the classical field with extraordinary ease. It's clear that she loves these songs. In her sensitive, straightforward, and enormously appealing performance, she has given us a very special musical experience." The album has been certified Gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 on May 5, 1999. In 2013 the album was remastered and 2 bonus tracks were added.

Production

''Barbra Streisand: The Music, the Woman, The Myth'' author Shaun Considine claimed that it took six months of secret editing to cut the album together. Francesco Scavullo was paid $75,000 to take the photograph that adorns the cover of the ''Classical Barbra'' album. This album saw Streisand be awarded her 40th gold album. Upon its rerelease, Streisand said: "I have always had a special affection for ''Classical Barbra''. I loved the process of developing and making the recording, and I was gratified by the success it had when it was originally released".

Critical reception

The album received favorable reviews from music critics. ''

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'' explained that the album was "widely panned" upon its release, though notably it was defended by

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

. ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' gave the album a retrospective rating of 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as one of Streisand's "more esoteric projects" and a surprise to her fans. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said that when the album was first released, it was a "rare and risky gambit". The Second Disk explained that the singer's "clarion voice and dramatic interpretive skills" ensured the album's timelessness. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that the album was a "rare instance of treisandbeing too deferential to the originals". ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' deemed it her "most daring album". The '' Tuscaloosa News'' compared Streisand's underwhelming performance of classical music to that of

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur coloratura soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor sing ...

. The Daily Gazette described it as an "ill-fated...proto-crossover album". ''

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'' said it was an "esoteric but laudable project", and one of the moments Streisand challenged herself with musical risks in her youth. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' compared its "hideous...camp" to that of Jane Olivor's performance of

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

's '' Lalena''. ''

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'' deemed it a "pleasant surprise". Sarasota Herald Times said the album saw her "belting out arias". A Singer's Notebook thought Streisand's vocals sounded "repressed". ''

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'', in an article about the inappropriateness and limitations of many crossover albums, described Streisand's effort as a " decidedly dangerous liaison". Classical pianist Glenn Gould wrote: "For me, the Streisand voice is one of the natural wonders of the age, an instrument of infinite diversity and timbral resource...Nothing in this album is insensitive or unmusical".

Track listing

# " Beau Soir" (

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

) – 2:42 # " Brezairola - Berceuse" ''from ' Songs of the Auvergne (

Joseph Canteloube Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (; 21 October 18794 November 1957) was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne (province), Auvergne region, ''Chants d'Auvergne''. ...

) – 3:47 # "Verschwiegene Liebe" (

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, so ...

) – 2:57 # " Pavane (Vocalise)" (

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

) – 5:29 # " Après un rêve" (

) – 3:24 # " In trutina" ''from '

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

(

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

) – 2:11 # " Lascia ch'io pianga" ''from ' Rinaldo (

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

) – 3:37 # " Mondnacht" (

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

) – 3:56 # "Dank sei Dir, Herr" (''Unconfirmed composer''; Handel or

Siegfried Ochs Siegfried Ochs (19 April 1858 – 6 February 1929) was a German choral conductor and composer. Life Born in Frankfurt, Ochs first studied medicine and chemistry at the Polytechnikum Darmstadt (today the Technische Universität Darmstadt) and at ...

) – 3:42 # "I Loved You" ( Claus Ogerman) – 2:18 2013 Remaster Bonus Tracks #

An Sylvia "An Sylvia", D 891; Op. 106, No. 4, is a Lied for voice and piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1826 and published in 1828. Its text is a German translation by Eduard von Bauernfeld of "Who is Silvia?" from act 4, scene 2, of '' The Two Gentle ...

, D.891" (

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Production

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

Further reading