| recordings |
|---|
| 1950-12-10 | Essay no.1 for Orchestra | live | New York Philharmonic, George Szell | 7:08 |
| 1982-02-21 | Essay for Orchestra no. 1 | | Pacific Symphony | 8:15 |
| 1991-04-13 | [First] Essay for Orchestra, op. 12 | | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Yoel Levi | 8:11 |
| 1991-09-30 – 1991-10-01 | First Essay for Orchestra, op. 12 | | Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman | 8:11 |
| 1991-11-08 – 1991-11-09 | Three Essays for Orchestra: First Essay, op. 12 | | Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi | 8:10 |
| 1998-12-08 – 1998-12-09 | First Essay for Orchestra, op. 12 | | Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop | 8:20 |
| Essay for Orchestra No. 1, Op. 12 | | Samuel Barber | 8:46 |
| Essay for Orchestra, op. 12 | | New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Schenck | 8:04 |
| Essay for Orchestra, Op. 12 | | Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin | 9:20 |
| First Essay for Orchestra | | Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitayenko | 8:24 |
| First Essay for Orchestra | | Академический симфонический оркестр Московской филармонии, Дмитрий Георгиевич Китаенко | 8:22 |
