Role

:

Composer Conductor  

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

March 9, 1910 in West Chester, PA

Death

:

January 23, 1981 in New York City, NY

Period

:

Contemporary

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Choral

 

 

Concerto

 

 

Keyboard

 

 

Opera

 

 

Orchestral

 

 

Vocal

 

Samuel Barber was an American composer of classical music who was born on March 9, 1910, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was the son of a physician and a pianist, and he grew up in a musical household. Barber began playing the piano at a young age and showed an early talent for music. He attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied composition with Rosario Scalero. Barber's early works were influenced by the Romantic composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Brahms and Rachmaninoff. His first major success came in 1936 with his Adagio for Strings, which was originally the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. The Adagio became one of Barber's most famous works and has been used in numerous films and television shows. In 1938, Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his opera Vanessa, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The opera was well-received and helped establish Barber as one of the leading American composers of his time. Barber continued to compose operas throughout his career, including Antony and Cleopatra, which was commissioned for the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. Barber also wrote a number of orchestral works, including his Symphony No. 1, which premiered in 1936, and his Symphony No. 2, which premiered in 1944. His Piano Concerto, Op. 38, premiered in 1962 and is considered one of his most important works for the piano. In addition to his operas and orchestral works, Barber also composed a number of chamber music pieces, including his String Quartet, Op. 11, and his Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 6. He also wrote a number of vocal works, including his Hermit Songs, Op. 29, which are settings of medieval Irish poems. Barber's music is known for its lyricism and emotional depth. He was a master of melody and harmony, and his works often have a nostalgic quality. His music is also characterized by its clarity and simplicity, which has made it accessible to a wide audience. Barber continued to compose throughout his life, but his later works were not as well-received as his earlier ones. He died on January 23, 1981, in New York City, at the age of 70. Despite the mixed reception of his later works, Barber's legacy as one of America's greatest composers has endured. His music continues to be performed and recorded by orchestras and ensembles around the world, and his influence can be heard in the works of many contemporary composers.

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