Samuel Barber
20th Century · 1910–1981
Samuel Barber grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and entered the brand-new Curtis Institute in Philadelphia at fourteen, studying piano, composition, and singing. His aunt was a leading opera singer, and a singer's sense of line stayed with him all his life: his music is openly melodic at a time when much American concert music was not.
Fame came early. In 1938 his Adagio for Strings, arranged from the slow movement of his String Quartet, op. 11, was broadcast by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony, and it has served as America's music of mourning ever since. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for the opera Vanessa and for his Piano Concerto, and shared much of his life with the composer Gian Carlo Menotti.
Start with the Violin Concerto, then Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a setting for voice and orchestra of James Agee's memory of childhood summer evenings.
65 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- String Quartet in B major, op. 11
- Canzonetta for Oboe and Piano, op. posth.48
- Cello Sonata, op. 6
- Mutations from Bach, for brass ensemble and timpani
- Serenade for String Quartet, op. 1
- Summer Music, for wind quintet, op. 31
Keyboard
- Piano Sonata in E flat minor, op. 26
- 2 Interludes
- 4 Excursions, op. 20
- Ballade, op. 46
- Chorale Preludes
- Nocturne, op. 33, "Hommage to John Field"
- Prelude and Fugue in B minor, for organ
- Souvenirs: Suite for Piano 4-hands, op. 28
- Variations on the Shape-note Hymn 'Wondrous Love', for organ
Orchestral
- Cello Concerto, in A minor, op. 22
- Piano Concerto, op. 38
- Symphony no. 1, op. 9
- The School for Scandal: Overture Op.5
- Violin Concerto, op. 14
- Capricorn Concerto, for flute, oboe, trumpet and strings, op. 21
- Commando March, for concert band
- Die Natali: Chorale Preludes for Christmas, op. 37
- Essay no. 1 for Orchestra, op. 12
- Essay no. 2 for Orchestra, op. 17
- Essay no. 3 for Orchestra, op. 47
- Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, op. 23a
- Medea: Cave of the Heart, op. 23
- Music for a Scene from Shelley, op. 7
- Souvenirs: Suite from the Ballet, op. 28
- Symphony no. 2, op. 19
- Toccata Festiva, for organ and orchestra, op. 36
Stage
- A Hand of Bridge, op. 35
- Antony and Cleopatra, op. 40 Opera
- Vanessa, op. 32 Opera
Vocal
- Knoxville: Summer of 1915, for high voice and orchestra, op. 24
- 2 Songs, op. 18
- 2 Songs for Chorus, op. 8
- 2 Songs for Chorus, op. 42
- 3 Songs, op. 2
- 3 Songs, op. 10
- 3 Songs, op. 45
- 4 Songs, op. 13
- Andromache's Farewell, for soprano and orchestra, op. 39
- A Slumber Song of the Madonna, for voice and organ
- A Stopwatch and an Ordinance Map, for male chorus and 3 timpani, op. 15
- Chorale for Ascension Day, for chorus, brass, timpani, and organ
- Despite and Stil, op. 41 Song cycle
- Dover Beach, for baritone and string quartet, op. 3
- God's Grandeur, for a cappella chorus
- Hermit Songs, op. 29
- In the Dark Pinewood
- Love's Caution
- Love at the Door
- Mélodies passagères, op. 27
- Night Wanderers
- Nuvoletta, op. 25
- Of That So Sweet Imprisonment
- Reincarnations, for a cappella chorus, op. 16
- Serenades
- Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
- Strings in the Earth and Air
- The Beggar's Song
- The Lovers, for baritone, chorus and orchestra, op. 43
- There's Nae Lark
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