Viggo Mortensen
American actor
Samuel Barber was a highly acclaimed American composer who made significant contributions to classical music in the mid-20th century. Known for his lyrical and emotive compositions, Barber excelled in both instrumental and vocal works, earning him two Pulitzer Prizes. Despite his success, he also embraced elements of musical modernism later in his career, showcasing his versatility as a composer.
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About the Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber IIwas an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced by nine years’ composition studies with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute and more than 25 years’ study with his uncle, the composer Sidney Homer, Barber’s music usually eschewed the experimental trends of musical modernism in favor of traditional 19th-century harmonic language and formal structure embracing lyricism and emotional expression. However, he adopted elements of modernism after 1940 in some of his compositions, such as an increased use of dissonance and chromaticism in the Cello Concertoand Medea’s Dance of Vengeancehas earned a permanent place in the orchestral concert repertory, as has that work’s adaptation for chorus, Agnus Deiwith text by Agee; and the song cycle Hermit Songs (1953), with anonymous texts by Irish monks from the eighth through thirteenth centuries. This emphasis on sung material was rooted in his own brief career as a professional baritone in his 20s which inspired a lifelong love of vocal music. In 1935, Barber recorded his own setting of Arnold’s “Dover Beach” for NBC, singing the vocal part accompanied by string quartet, and he was also featured weekly on NBC Radio in 1935-1936 performing German lieder and art songs. He also occasionally conducted performances and recordings of his works with symphony orchestras during the 1950s, and taught composition at the Curtis Institute from 1939 to 1942.
Barber was in a relationship with the composer Gian Carlo Menotti for more than 40 years. They lived at Capricorn, a house just north of New York City, where they frequently hosted parties with academic and music luminaries. Menotti was Barber’s librettist for two of his three operas. When the relationship ended in 1970, they remained close friends until Barber’s death from cancer in 1981.
Frequently Asked Questions
Samuel Barber was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator who was one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century.
Some of Samuel Barber’s most famous compositions include the Adagio for Strings, the opera Vanessa, and the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, for which he won two Pulitzer Prizes.
While Barber’s early works embraced a traditional 19th-century harmonic language, he later adopted elements of musical modernism, such as increased use of dissonance and chromaticism, in compositions like the Cello Concerto and Piano Sonata.
Samuel Barber was in a relationship with composer Gian Carlo Menotti for over 40 years, and Menotti was the librettist for two of Barber’s three operas.
Barber had a brief career as a professional baritone in his 20s, which inspired a lifelong love of vocal music, and two-thirds of his compositional output was art songs, choral music, and songs for voice and orchestra.
Many of Barber’s compositions, such as the Adagio for Strings and Knoxville: Summer of 1915, were commissioned or first performed by renowned groups and artists, helping them gain widespread popularity and recognition.