Samuel Barber, American Composer
Neo-Classical Style Musician with Passion for Poetry and Drama
Brief biography and works of American composer Samuel Barber, famous for 'Adagio for Strings' and Dover Beach.
Samuel Barber (1910-1981), an American composer of the neo-Classical style, is famous for his 'Adagio for Strings' and 'Dover Beach.' He created a “modern” grand opera Antony and Cleopatra, the first to be performed at the new Metropolitan Opera House (Met) in New York City, Sept 16, 1966.
Early Life and Influence
Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, on March 9, 1910, he was bred into a cultured musical family. At the age of seven, Samuel displayed a prodigious talent for composing both in vocal and instrumental music. Aged 18, he formed a lasting friendship with Gian Carlo Menotti.
Early Musical Success
He studied as a baritone, pianist and composer at the Curtis Institute and while there, he won acclaim with such work as Dover Beach. He also wrote his famous Adagio for strings at the age of 25. His opulent yet unforced romanticism struck a chord and he was much in demand during the 1930s.
He rarely incorporated popular jazz and folk idioms into his music. Samuel won a Pulitzer scholarship in 1935, and the following year, the American Academy’s Prix de Rome. In the 1940s he began to include more ‘modern’ features of harmony and scoring.
More Work and Awards
His works include Adagio for Strings (used in the films The Elephant Man and Platoon in the 1980s), ballets (Medea, Op.23, reviewed as Cave of the Heart, and Souvenirs, Op.28), some chamber music and the opera Vanessa which won him one of his two Pulitzer prizes.
Notably, the opera Antony and Cleopatra, which was commissioned for the opening of theMetropolitan Opera House at the Lincoln Center, New York City, was considered a failure at its premiere primarily due to an over-elaborate staging, but had some success during the later version.
Barber’s music is lyrical and fastidiously worked. His later compositions include The Lovers in 1971. The tuneful style of his composition has been considered conservative by some contemporary critics, understandably, perhaps due to influence from European Romantic tradition, but he is held in highest esteem with the depth of emotion expressed in his music.
Samuel Barber's Major Works
- Dover Beach, for solo baritone and string quarter, 1931
- Overture, The School for Scandal, 1931
- String Quarter, 1936
- Symphony No.1, 1936
- Adagio for Strings, 1938
- Violin Concerto, 1941
- Cello Concerto, 1945
- Medea, Op.23, 1946, reviewed as Cave of the Heart, 1947,
- Knoxville: Summer of 1915, for soprano and orchestra, 1947
- Piano sonata, 1949
- Souvenirs, Op.28, 1952
- Opera, Vanessa, 1957-1958
- Piano Concerto, 1962
- Opera, Antony and Cleopatra, 1966, later version, 1974
- Agnus Dei, for choir, 1967
Sources
The Encyclopedia of Music, by Max Wade-Matthews & Wendy Thompson, Hermes House (2002)
The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (1994)
The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham, OUP (2002)
