Biography      Archive       Links      News     Contact me   Home

Samuel Barber

(b. West Chester, PA, 9 March 1910 ; d. New York, 23 Jan 1981),

American composer. He studied as a baritone and composer (with Scalero) at the Curtis Institute (1924-32) and while there began to win acclaim with such works as Dover Beach (1931), written for himself to sing with string quartet. His opulent yet unforced Romanticism struck a chord and during the 1930s he was much in demand: his overture The School for Scandal (1933), First Symphony (1936), First Essay (1937) and Adagio (originally the second movement of his String Quartet, 1936) were widely performed, the lyrical, elegiac Adagio remaining a popular classic. In the 1940s he began to include more 'modern' features of harmony and scoring. Of his operas, Vanessa (1958), praised as 'highly charged with emotional meaning', was more successful than Antony and Cleopatra (1966, for the opening of the new Met).

Dramatic music 2 ballets – Medea (1946), Souvenirs (1953); 3 operas, incl. Vanessa (1958), Antony and Cleopatra (1966)
Orchestral music The School for Scandal, ov. (1933); Adagio, str [arr. from Str Qt 2nd movt] (1936); 2 syms. (1936, 1944); 3 Essays (1937, 1942, 1978); Vn Conc. (1940); Vc Conc. (1945); Pf Conc. (1962)
Vocal music 7 choral works, incl. Prayers of Kierkegaard (1954); 12 solo vocal works, incl. Dover Beach, Mez/Bar, str qt (1931); Knoxville: Summer of 1915, S, orch (1947); Hermit Songs (1952-3)
Chamber and instrumental music 11 works, incl. Vn Sonata (1931); Vc Sonata (1932); Str Qt (1936); Pf Sonata (1949)

Biography      Archive       Links      News     Contact me   Home