Barber joins the Army

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Donald Macleod explores a period in Barber’s life when he composed his iconic Piano Sonata. Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa. Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America’s most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow. The 1940s saw Samuel Barber compose a number of significant works, including his Piano Sonata. The premier of this landmark work was the first time a major piano work by an American composer had been performed by an internationally famous virtuoso. The pianist was Vladimir Horowitz, who collaborated with Barber on its creation. Also, during this decade, Barber served in the US armed forces who commissioned him to compose his Commando March and also his Second Symphony. After the war, the conductor Koussevitsky commissioned a Cello Concerto from Barber to be performed by Raya Garbousova. In 1946, Barber collaborated with the choreographer and dancer Martha Graham on the ballet Medea. Monks and Raisins, Op 18 No 2 Fleur Barron, mezzo-soprano Dylan Perez, piano Commando March Royal Scottish National Orchestra Marin Alsop, conductor Cello Concerto, Op 22 (Andante sostenuto) Yo-Yo Ma, cello Baltimore Symphony Orchestra David Zinman, conductor Medea Orchestral Suite, Op 23 (excerpt) Royal Scottish National Orchestra Marin Alsop, conductor Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op 24 Julia Bullock, soprano Philharmonia Orchestra Christian Reif, conductor Piano Sonata, Op 26 (excerpt) Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano Produced by Luke Whitlock