One of the U.S.'s most productive musical households is in suburban Mt. Kisco, N.Y. In the east wing of a rambling modern bungalow, Italian-born Composer Gian-Carlo Menotti turns out his brilliant, fast-paced operas (The Old Maid & the Thief, The Medium); in the west wing, lanky Pennsylvanian Samuel Barber concentrates on his own orchestral and chamber music.
Last week the house's latest work, Barber's Piano Sonata Op. 26, got a rousing reception at Manhattan's Carnegie Hall. Played by Vladimir Horowitz, whose steely, piston-precise fingers can make the most of whatever music they attack,...
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