Search results
In 1940, he wrote a choral piece using Stephen Spender ’s war poem, "A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map". From this point forward, World War II caused his second phase of composing. This new phase was greatly influenced by other composers such as Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartók, and genres such as jazz.
Samuel Barber was an American composer who is considered one of the most expressive representatives of the lyric and Romantic trends in 20th-century classical music. Barber studied the piano from an early age and soon began to compose.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mar 5, 2010 · In the middle of the 20th century, when composers were writing with angularity and dissonance, Barber forged his own lyrical, romantic style. By the time he was 26, he'd composed the iconic...
- Ted Libbey
Nov 4, 2006 · Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" is considered one of the most popular of all 20th-century classical works. Its 1938 premiere by the NBC Orchestra with conductor Arturo Toscanini is a...
Barber throws everything into the stylistic melting pot, from Puccini and Mascagni, to Richard Strauss and Korngold. “It was a miracle that a composer had the courage to write music in this style,” wrote the conductor of the premiere, Dmitri Mitropoulos.
His works spanned a variety of genres, including orchestral pieces, operas, ballets, and choral works. The essence of Barber’s music lies in its lyricism and emotional expressiveness, often inspired by literary allusions.
Samuel Barber began his life as a composer in the 1930s, with his music veering into 18th- and 19th-century European backgrounds. There were three major influences in his career. The first was his formal musical education which provided a sturdy structure to his work, and was also known to be European-oriented.
