Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)

Introduction
Samuel Barber was born on March 9th, 1910, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With the influence of being raised in a musical environment, Samuel would enter the Curtis Institute of Music in 1924 where he would study piano, composition, singing, and conducting. After graduating in 1934, Barber would focus solely on composition, leading to him to emassing a line of work that saw him be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music twice and become known as arguably the most celebrated composer of the 20th century.

Work Analysis
Samuel Barber has been associated the most with the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11; Adagio for Strings (1936). Barber’s Adagio for Strings premiered in a performance by the NBC Symphony Orchestra on November 5th, 1938, and was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The piece is written for a string quartet, using 2 violins, a viola, 2 cellos, and a double bass. The work is written in the key of b flat minor and is an example of an arch form that builds onto an ascending melody. This has been described to having a melodic gesture that reaches a high point, and like a big sigh, exhales and fades off. Afterwards, the melody will then descend stepwise. Barber changes the time signature to subtly change the pulse of the piece; Barber uses 4/2, 5/2, 6/2, and even 3/2 time throughout the music. Barber gives each stringed section a moment to where they are the focus, by switching off the main melody throughout the piece. To give more weight to the piece as it progresses, Barber makes each phrase longer than the last while moving into the higher ranges of the instruments.

Observations / Comparisons
Samuel Barber was known from breaking from the mold of composers for his time but wasn't categorized as an experimentalist or modernist; most see him as a Neo-Romantic. Comparisons could be made with the late Romantic era composer Franz Schubert who was praised for his melodies and harmonies. Personally, I can hear similarities between Barber's Adagio for Strings and Schubert’s String quartet D.887, second movement.