"Leontyne Price’s New York recitals were always big events. . . . The opera arias at the beginning are impressive for the weight of tone and drama, but it’s the encores, especially the Butterfly extracts, that catch her at her most expressive. Even “Summertime”, which she sang at almost every concert she ever gave, is given a new interpretation here. The most valuable aspect of this CD, though, is the glimpse it affords of Price the Lieder singer and advocate for American song. Lee Hoiby composed songs specially for her, and it is good to have at least a souvenir of their collaboration in these three beautiful songs. . . . My favourite track of all is the penultimate encore, the spiritual Witness, with a sly characterization of Delilah as she asks Samson where his strength comes from. We might ask the same question of Price herself, and her answer in part comes in the final item, America the Beautiful, sung unaccompanied. I would defy anybody to listen to this and remain unmoved." -- Gramophone
