• Name: Samuel Barber
• Birthday: 03/09/1910
• Birth Place: West Chester, PA
• Died: 01/23/1981
• Place of Death: New York, NY
• Period: Modern
• Genre: Classical

Title	Release
(23) The School for Scandal, overture for orchestra, Op. 5	1991
(436) Adagio for strings (or string quartet; arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Quartet), Op. 11
(21) Essay for orchestra, Op. 12	1940
(27) Vanessa, opera, Op. 32
(12) Piano Concerto, Op. 38	1990
(12) Capricorn Concerto, for flute, oboe, trumpet & strings, Op. 21	1995
(10) Music for a Scene from Shelley, for orchestra, Op. 7	1991
(3) Andromache's Farewell, for soprano & orchestra, Op. 39	1963
(7) Prayers of Kierkegaard, for soprano, alto and tenor ad lib, mixed chorus & orchestra, Op. 30	1997
(27) Knoxville: Summer of 1915, for high voice & orchestra (rev. for voice & chamber orchestra), Op. 24	1992
(16) Second Essay, for orchestra, Op. 17 W	1991
(5) A Hand of Bridge, chamber opera, Op. 35
(5) A Nun Takes the Veil, song for voice & piano, Op. 13/1 W	1993
(3) A Slumber Song of the Madonna, for voice & organ
(10) A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map, for male chorus & 3 tympani, Op. 15
(79) Agnus Dei, for chorus (arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Quartet), Op. 11
(17) Antony and Cleopatra, opera, Op. 40	1991
(13) Ballade, for piano, Op. 46
(4) Bessie Bobtail, for voice & piano, Op. 2/3	1995
(22) Canzone (Elegy), for flute and piano (arr. from 2nd mvt. of the Piano Concerto), Op. 38a	2007
(6) Canzonetta for oboe & piano (arr. for oboe & strings by C. Turner), Op. 48 posth.	1990
(21) Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 22
(27) Cello Sonata, for cello & piano, Op. 6
(3) Chorale for Ascension Day, for chorus, brass, tympani & organ WA
(2) Chorale Preludes, for keyboard	1997
Church Bell at Night, song for voice & piano (Hermit Songs), Op. 29/2
(14) Commando March, for band WA	1992
(6) Despite and Still, song cycle for voice & piano, Op. 41 WA	2003
Despite and Still, song for voice & piano (Despite and Still), Op. 41/5	2001
(3) Die Natali, chorale Christmas preludes for orchestra, Op. 37	1975
(15) Dover Beach, for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) & string quartet, Op. 3 WA	1990
Essays (3) for orchestra	1991
(33) Excursions (4), for piano, Op. 20
(3) Fadograph of a Yestern Scene, for orchestra (after Joyce: "Finnegan's Wake"), Op. 44	1989
(3) God's Grandeur, for chorus	1995
(7) Heaven-Haven, for chorus (arr. of song Op. 13/1)
(20) Hermit Songs, for voice & piano, Op. 29 WA
(2) Horizon, for orchestra
(3) I Hear an Army, song for voice & piano, Op. 10/3	1995
(5) In the Dark Pinewood, song for voice & piano
(6) Interludes (Intermezzi) (2), for piano
(8) Let Down the Bars, O Death!, for SATB, Op.8/2
(3) Love at the Door, song for voice & piano
(3) Love's Caution, song for voice & piano
(9) Medea (Cave of the Heart), suite for orchestra, Op. 23	1989
Medea (Serpent Heart) (rev. as "Cave of the Heart"), ballet, Op. 23	1990
(18) Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance (from "Medea"), Op. 23a
(11) Mélodies passagères (5), songs for voice & piano, Op. 27	1999
(8) Mutations from Bach (on "Christe, Du Lamm Gottes"), for brass ensemble & timpani	1991
(2) Night Flight, for orchestra, Op. 19a (revision of 2nd mvt. of Symphony No.2)	1973

An open-hearted yet tough romantic, Samuel Barber was one of the few twentieth century American composers to fight for the primacy of lyricism. In his last decades he seemed to be losing the battle, but by the end of the century Barber had posthumously become one of America's most widely performed and recorded composers. In particular, his emotive Violin Concerto and Adagio for Strings have gained a popularity exceeded only by certain works of Aaron Copland.

Barber entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1924, where he met future opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti; the two would become lifelong lovers. Barber was an able pianist and a baritone of some talent, but he was an even more precocious composer. His 1933 Curtis graduation piece, the spirited School for Scandal Overture, has become a beloved concert opener.

Barber developed into America's most enduring composer of art songs; most popular is his tender setting for soprano and chamber orchestra of James Agee's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Barber had unerring taste in texts, and his literary interests led him to compose some allusive short orchestral pieces. Yet he was particularly adept at writing abstract works, such as Music for a Scene from Shelley. Many of these are in large forms: two symphonies, one string quartet (from which was drawn the Adagio for Strings, first popularized by Arturo Toscanini), an ambitious piano sonata, and one concerto each for violin, cello, and piano. While following traditional formats, they are propelled by a dramatic expressivity that hadn't been fashionable since Sibelius. Equally direct in their emotional content are his three Essays for Orchestra, the second being the best crafted and most acclaimed.

Barber would have seemed an ideal composer for the stage, but he had limited success in that realm. Medea, a 1947 dance score for Martha Graham, has found greater longevity in orchestral excerpts. His 1958 Vanessa garnered him the first of two Pulitzer Prizes (the second was for his Piano Concerto), but, like most other American operas, it quickly dropped out of sight. Barber wrote Anthony and Cleopatra to open the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966, but critical reaction was so hostile that he produced very little during his remaining 15 years. Barber was too conservative to be fashionable; his harmony could be astringent, but his tonality remained secure, his rhythms were strong and clear, and he was not above writing a good melody. ~ James Reel, All Music Guide