Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944

Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music ranging from orchestral, to opera, choral, and piano music. His intensely lyrical Adagio for Strings became his most famous composition and can be heard in films such as Platoon, The Elephant Man, Amélie, El Norte, Lorenzo's Oil and Reconstruction. Samuel Barber photographed by Carl Van Vechten, December 11, 1944 From the collection of the Library of Congress and in the public domain: http://memory. ... Samuel Barber photographed by Carl Van Vechten, December 11, 1944 From the collection of the Library of Congress and in the public domain: http://memory. ... Photographic self-portrait by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 Carl Van Vechten (June 17, 1880 – December 21, 1964) was an American writer and photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... This article is about choirs, musical ensembles containing singers. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a work for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ... Platoon is an award winning 1986 Vietnam war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Willem Dafoe. ... The Elephant Man is a 1980 biopic loosely based on the story of the 19th century British deformed celebrity, Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film). ... Amélie (Tautou), her father Raphaël (Rufus), and the travelling garden gnome. ... El Norte is a 1983 film that tells the story of a teenaged brother and sister from Guatemala who leave their war-torn country to try to find a new life in Los Angeles; the two characters expect to have a simple, easy life in the United States. ... Lorenzos oil is a 4:1 mixture of glycerol trioleate and glycerol trierucate (the triglyceride forms of oleic and erucic acid) used in the preventative treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). ...

Biography

Early years

Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. At a very early age, Barber became profoundly interested in music, and it was apparent that he had great musical talent and ability. At the age of nine he told his mother: "I was meant to be a composer and will be I'm sure...Don't ask me to try...and go play football, please." Town center of West Chester. ... Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He wrote his first musical composition at the early age of 7 and attempted to write his first opera at the age of 10. He was an organist at the age of 12. When he was 14, he entered the Curtis Institute, a conservatory where he studied piano, composition, and voice. The Curtis Institute of Music is a music school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. ...

Barber was born into a comfortable, educated, social, and distinguished American family. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a pianist. His aunt, Louise Homer, was a leading Contralto at the Metropolitan Opera and his uncle, Sidney Homer, was a composer of American art songs. Louise Homer is noted to have influenced Barber's interest in voice. Through his aunt, Barber had access to many great singers and songs. This background is further reflected in that Barber decided to study voice at the Curtis Conservatory. Louise Homer (30 April 1871 - 6 May 1947) was a United States operatic contralto. ... In music, an alto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a soprano. ... Sidney Homer (9 December 1864 - 1953) was a classical composer, primarily of songs. ...

Barber began composing seriously in his late teenage years. Around the same time, he met fellow Curtis schoolmate Gian Carlo Menotti, and would form a lifelong personal and professional relationship. At the Curtis Institute, Barber was a triple prodigy of composition, voice, and piano. He soon became a favorite of the conservatory's founder, Mary Louise Bok. It was through Bok that Barber would be introduced to his one and only publisher, the Schirmer family. At the age of 18, Barber won a prize from Columbia University for his Violin Sonata (now lost or destroyed by the composer). Gian Carlo Menotti, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Gian Carlo Menotti (born July 7, 1911, Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy) is an Italian-born American composer and librettist. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ... A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, often (but not always) accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque. ...

Mid years

From his early to late twenties, Barber wrote a flurry of successful compositions, launching him into the spotlight of the classical music community. Many of his compositions were commissioned or first performed by such famous artists as Vladimir Horowitz, Eleanor Steber, Raya Garbousova, John Browning, Leontyne Price, Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. At the young age of 28, Barber's Adagio for Strings was performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. Barber was the first American composer to have a composition performed by Toscanini, launching him to international prominence. Barber served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, where he was commissioned to write his Second Symphony, a work he later suppressed (which was resurrected in a Vox recording by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra). He would go on to win a Pulitzer prize in 1963 for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Vladimir Samoylovych Horowitz (Ukrainian: ; Russian: ) (1 October 1903 – 5 November 1989) was a Ukrainian-born, American classical pianist. ... Eleanor Steber Eleanor Steber, (born Wheeling, West Virginia, 17 July 1916 - died Langhorne, Pennsylvania. ... RAYA GARBOUSOVA Raya Garbousova was born in 1909 in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia and died on Jan. ... John Moses Browning (January 21, 1855 – November 26, 1926), born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed myriad varieties of weapons, cartridges, and gun mechanics, many of which are used in the U.S. military and elsewhere to this day. ... Legendary Leontyne Price by Jack Mitchell, 1981 Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American opera singer (soprano). ... Pierre Bernac was born as Pierre Bertin on 12 January 1899. ... Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (IPA: ) (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. ... The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (born May 28, 1925) is regarded by many as the finest Lieder singer of his generation, if not of the last century. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a work for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ... Arturo Toscanini listening to playbacks at RCA Victor (BMG Music) Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 – January 16, 1957) was an Italian musician. ... The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army. ... This 90 player orchestra is a Crown Entity owned by the Government of New Zealand. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...

Later years

Barber spent many years in isolation (eventually diagnosed with clinical depression) after the harsh rejection of his third opera Anthony and Cleopatra (which he believed contained some of his best music. "This was supposed to have been my opera!" he wailed). The opera was written for and premiered at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House on 16 September 1966. After this setback, Barber continued to write music until he was almost 70 years old. Barber’s music in his later years would be lauded as reflective, contemplative, but without the morbidity or unhappiness of other composers who knew they had a limited time to live. The Third Essay for Orchestra (1978) was his last major work and critics received it as having all the vigor and imagination of his earlier works. The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ...

Barber died of cancer in 1981 in New York City at the age of 70.

Achievements and awards

Barber was president of the International Music Council of UNESCO, where he did much to bring into focus and ameliorate the conditions of international musical problems. He was also one of the first American composers to visit Russia. Barber was also influential in the successful campaign of composers against ASCAP, helping composers increase the share of royalties they receive from their compositions. Barber was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the American Prix de Rome, two Pulitzers, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is an organization known as a collecting society that protects intellectual property, ensuring that music which is broadcast, commercially recorded, or otherwise used for profit, pays a fee to compensate the creators of that music. ... The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for art students. ... American Academy of Arts and Letters is an organization whose goal is to foster, assist, and sustain an interest in American literature, music, and art. ...

Music

Orchestral music

Barber intensely played and studied the music of J.S. Bach. He also was an adherent of Brahms, from whom he learned how to compress profound emotions into small modules of highly charged musical expression (Cello Sonata, 1932). In 1933, after reading the poem "Prometheus Unbound" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Barber composed the tone poem Music for a Scene from Shelley. In 1935, the work was premiered at Carnegie Hall, and this was the first time the composer heard one of his orchestral works performed publicly. Barber’s compositional style has been lauded for its musical logic, sense of architectural design, effortless melodic gift, and direct emotional appeal as in Overture to The School for Scandal (1931) and Music for a Scene from Shelley (1933). These characteristics remained in his music throughout his lifetime. For other people named Bach and other meanings of the word, see Bach (disambiguation). ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of classical music. ... The Cello Sonata opus 6 by Samuel Barber is a sonata for cello and piano, dedicated to. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. ... A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in one movement in which some extra-musical programme provides a narrative or illustrative element. ... Samuel Barbers overture to The School for Scandal, Op. ...

Through the success of his Overture to The School for Scandal(1931), Music for a Scene from Shelley (1933), Adagio for Strings (1938); First Symphony in One Movement (1936), First Essay for Orchestra (1937) and Violin Concerto (1939), Barber garnered performances by the world’s leading conductors — Eugene Ormandy, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Bruno Walter, Charles Munch, George Szell, Artur Rodzinski, Leopold Stokowski, and Thomas Schippers. Samuel Barbers overture to The School for Scandal, Op. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a work for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ... Samuel Barbers violin concerto, Op. ... Eugene Ormandy (November 18, 1899, Budapest, Hungary – March 12, 1985, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an eminent American orchestral conductor. ... Dimitris Mitropoulos (Greek: Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος) (March 1, 1896 – November 2, 1960) was a Greek conductor, pianist, and composer who spent most of his career in the United States. ... Bruno Walter (September 15, 1876 – February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor and composer. ... Charles Münch (September 26, 1891 – November 6, 1968) was a French conductor and violinist. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Artur Rodzinski (January 1, 1892 - November 27, 1958) was a Polish conductor. ... Leopold Stokowski (born Antoni StanisÅ‚aw BolesÅ‚awowicz April 18, 1882 in London, England, died September 13, 1977 in Nether Wallop, England) was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air. ... Thomas Schippers (1930-1977) was a prominent American orchestral conductor. ...

His compositions would later include characteristics of polytonality (Second Symphony, 1944), atonality (Medea, 1946; Prayers of Kierkegaard, 1954), Twelve-tone technique (Nocturne, 1959 and the Piano Sonata, 1949), and even jazz (Excursions, 1944; A Hand of Bridge, 1959). Barber's composition were never lauded to be pathbreaking, but his compositions were an eclectic blend of the “musical currents hovering about in his time”. John Corigliano succinctly described Barber's style as "an interesting dichotomy of harmonic procedures — an alternation between post-Straussian chromaticism and often diatonic typical American simplicity." The musical use of more than one key simultaneously is polytonality. ... Atonality describes music not conforming to the system of tonal hierarchies, which characterizes the sound of classical European music between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wikisource. ... Twelve-tone technique (also dodecaphony) is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... A Hand of Bridge, a nine minute opera composed by Samuel Barber with libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti, is one of the shortest operas that is regularly performed. ... Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a Jewish German-American political philosopher who has been greatly influential in America. ...

Among his finest works are his four concertos, one each for Violin (1939), Cello (1945) and Piano (1962), and also the neoclassical Capricorn Concerto for flute, oboe, trumpet and string orchestra. All of these works are extremely rewarding for the soloists and public alike, as all contain both highly virtuosic and extremely beautiful writing, often simultaneously. The latter three have been unfairly neglected until recent years, when there has been a reawakening of interest in the expressive possibilities of these masterpieces. Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason... Samuel Barbers Capricorn Concerto (op. ...

Piano

Having studied piano at Curtis, Barber composed many piano pieces. The four-piano "bagatelles" Excursions (1942-44), was his first venture into Americana music. Its elements of boogie-woogie, blues, cowboy songs, and hoedown are not typical of Barber's classical and refined music. In 1949, Barber wrote his well received Piano Sonata. The Nocturne for Piano (Hommage to John Field), Opus 33, is another respected piece he produced for the instrument. Boogie woogie has two different meanings: a piano based music style, boogie woogie (music) a dance that imitates the rocknroll of the 50s, boogie woogie (dance) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it. ...

Opera

Gian Carlo Menotti, whom Barber had met at Curtis, supplied the libretto (text) for Barber's opera, Vanessa. Barber's beautiful voice and vocal training were more than adequate to impress Rudolf Bing. In 1956, Barber sang him the score of his opera Vanessa; the impresario was so astonished that he accepted and produced the work immediately. Vanessa would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize and gain acclaim as the first American “grand” opera. Menotti would also go on to contribute the libretto for Barber's chamber opera Hand of Bridge and direct the production of many of Barber's operas. Barber's Antony and Cleopatra was commissioned to open the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. The elaborate production designed by Franco Zeffirelli was marred by numerous technological disasters; it also overwhelmed and obscured Barber's music, which most critics derailed as uncharacteristically weak and unoriginal. In recent years, a revised version of Antony and Cleopatra, for which Menotti provided collaborative assistance, has enjoyed some success. Gian Carlo Menotti, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Gian Carlo Menotti (born July 7, 1911, Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy) is an Italian-born American composer and librettist. ... A libretto is the complete body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. ... Vanessa is an opera in three acts (originally four acts) by Samuel Barber with a English libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, based of the story Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen. ... An impresario is a manager or producer in one of the entertainment industries, usually Music or Theatre. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... A libretto is the complete body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. ... Antony and Cleopatra is an opera in three acts by Samuel Barber. ... Franco Zeffirelli (born Gianfranco Corsi on February 12, 1923), is an Italian film director. ... Antony and Cleopatra is an opera in three acts by Samuel Barber. ...

Vocal

With a background deeply rooted in vocals, Barber's love of poetry and his intimate knowledge and appreciation of the human voice inspired his vocal writing. Barber's most famous vocal compositions, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (to words by James Agee) and Dover Beach (to words from a Victorian text by Matthew Arnold), were greatly successful and received critical acclaim, making a powerful case for Barber as one of the twentieth century's most accomplished composers for the voice. James Rufus Agee (November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Matthew Arnold Caricature from Punch, 1881: Admit that Homer sometimes nods, That poets do write trash, Our Bard has written Balder Dead, And also Balder-dash Family tree Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic, who worked as an inspector of schools. ...

Quote

• "How awful that the artist has become nothing but the after-dinner mint of society" – Samuel Barber

Notable compositions

For a full list of works with opus number and some without, see List of compositions by Samuel Barber This is a list of compositions by Samuel Barber. ...

• Dover Beach (Baritone and String Quartet) (Op. 3, 1931)
• The School for Scandal (Overture) (Op. 5, 1931)
• Cello Sonata (Op. 6, 1932)
• (First) Symphony in One Movement (Op. 9, 1936)
• Adagio for strings (arr. of String Quartet, mov’t 2) (Op. 11, 1938)
• Essay for Orchestra (Op. 12, 1937)
• Violin Concerto (Op. 14, 1939)
• Second Essay for Orchestra (Op. 17, 1942)
• Excursions (Piano) (Op. 20, 1942-44)
• Capricorn Concerto (Op. 21, 1944)
• Cello Concerto (Op. 22, 1945)
• Medea (Ballet) (Op. 23, 1946)
• Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Soprano & Orchestra) (Op. 24, 1948)
• Sonata for Piano (Op. 26, 1949)
• Hermit Songs (Op. 29, 1953)
• Prayers of Kierkegaard (Soprano, Choir & Orchestra) (Op. 30, 1954)
• Vanessa (Opera) (Op. 32, 1957)
• A Hand of Bridge (Chamber opera) (Op. 35, 1959)
• Piano Concerto (Op. 38, 1962)

Baritone (French: baryton; Deutsch: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... Samuel Barbers overture to The School for Scandal, Op. ... Overture (French ouverture, meaning opening) in music is the instrumental introduction to a dramatic, choral or, occasionally, instrumental composition. ... The Cello Sonata opus 6 by Samuel Barber is a sonata for cello and piano, dedicated to. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a work for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ... Samuel Barbers violin concerto, Op. ... Samuel Barbers Capricorn Concerto (op. ... Samuel Barbers Cello Concerto in A Minor (op. ... Medea is a composition by American composer, Samuel Barber. ... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hermit Songs is a cycle of ten songs for voice and piano by Samuel Barber. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wikisource. ... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Vanessa is an opera in three acts (originally four acts) by Samuel Barber with a English libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, based of the story Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen. ... A Hand of Bridge, a nine minute opera composed by Samuel Barber with libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti, is one of the shortest operas that is regularly performed. ... Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. ... The Piano Concerto, Op 38, by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the music publishing company G. Schirmer in honor of the hundredth anniversary of their founding. ...

See also

• Category: Compositions by Samuel Barber
• List of compositions by Samuel Barber

This is a list of compositions by Samuel Barber. ...

Reference and further reading

• Samuel Barber, The Composer and his Music by Barbara B. Heyman ISBN 0-19-509058-6. The first book to cover Barber's entire career and all of his compositions.

External links

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Samuel Barber

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Bibliography

• Broder, Nathan. Samuel Barber (1910-1981). September 9 2000. http://www.guildmusic.com/composer/barbers.htm
• Wittke, Paul. Samuel Barber. G. Schirmer Inc. http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&ComposerId_2872=72
• Samuel Osborne Barber. IHAS. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/composer/barber.html
• Smith, Patricia. Barber, Samuel. GLBTQ. http://www.glbtq.com/arts/barber_s.html
• The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5

Other

• A grand romance: review of Vanessa By Tim Ashley, Friday November 14, 2003, The Guardian.
• Art of the States: Samuel Barber
• Samuel Barber page at G. Schirmer, Inc.
• NPR special on the selection of the 1938 radio debut of "Adagio for Strings" to the 2005 National Recording Registry
• Gay Great - Samuel Barber