Music From Marlboro: Six Songs / Four Moravian Duets, Op. 20 / Six Duets, Op. 63

Released by Columbia Masterworks in 1967, this recording captures the intimate chamber music tradition of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. Established in 1951, the festival served as a retreat where world-class musicians, including Rudolf Serkin and Pablo Casals, gathered to rehearse and perform in a collaborative environment far removed from the pressures of commercial recording studios. This specific disc features a collection of duets by Dvořák and Mendelssohn, showcasing the festival's emphasis on deep, concentrated exploration of the vocal chamber repertoire.

The recording features a rotating cast of esteemed musicians associated with the festival, including vocalists Benita Valente and Mary Burgess, accompanied by pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski and other festival stalwarts. The aesthetic of the Marlboro series on Columbia was intentionally understated, prioritizing the spontaneous, organic quality of live rehearsals and intimate performances over the polished perfection of standard studio sessions. Critics of the era generally lauded these recordings for their warmth and pedagogical spirit, marking them as vital documents of a unique period in American classical music history.