Samuel Barber facts for kids

Samuel Barber, a famous American composer, in 1944.

Samuel Osmond Barber II (born March 9, 1910 – died January 23, 1981) was a very important American composer. He was also a pianist, a conductor, and a singer. Many people think he was one of the most famous composers of the 1900s.

A music critic named Donal Henahan once said that "Probably no other American composer has ever enjoyed such early, such persistent and such long-lasting acclaim." This means Barber was famous from a young age and stayed famous for a long time.

Barber learned a lot from his nine years of studying composition with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute. He also learned from his uncle, Sidney Homer, for over 25 years. Barber's music often sounded more traditional, like music from the 1800s, focusing on beautiful melodies and feelings. He didn't always follow the new, experimental music styles of his time. However, after 1940, he did start using some modern ideas in his music, like more unusual harmonies in his Cello Concerto (1945) and Medea's Dance of Vengeance (1955).

Samuel Barber was good at writing music for both instruments and voices. His works became popular all over the world. Many of his pieces quickly became part of the standard classical music played in concerts. His Adagio for Strings (1936) is especially famous and is often played by orchestras. He also made a version of it for choirs called Agnus Dei (1967).

Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for Music two times. He won for his opera Vanessa (1956–57) and for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1962). Another well-known piece is Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947). This piece is for a soprano singer and an orchestra, using words from a story by James Agee. By the time Barber passed away, almost all of his music had been recorded. Many of his compositions were specially requested or first performed by famous groups and artists. These included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and singers like Leontyne Price.

Even though Barber wrote a lot of instrumental music, two-thirds of his work was for voices. This included songs for solo voice and piano, choir music, and songs for voice and orchestra. Some of his most popular songs are Sure on this shining night (1938 for solo voice, 1961 for choir) and the collection of songs called Hermit Songs (1953). He loved vocal music because he was a professional baritone singer in his 20s. In 1935, he even recorded his own song, "Dover Beach," singing and playing the piano himself for NBC. He also sometimes conducted his own music with orchestras in the 1950s. From 1939 to 1942, he taught composition at the Curtis Institute.

Samuel Barber shared a home and a long-lasting friendship with fellow composer Gian Carlo Menotti for over 40 years. They lived at a house called Capricorn, just north of New York City. They often hosted parties there with important people from music and academics. Menotti wrote the stories (librettos) for two of Barber's three operas. Even after they stopped living together in 1970, they remained close friends until Barber's death from cancer in 1981.

Biography

Early life and education

The house where Samuel Barber grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His family was well-off, educated, and respected. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a pianist. His mother's family had lived in the United States since the American Revolutionary War. Barber's aunt, Louise Homer, was a famous singer at the Metropolitan Opera. His uncle, Sidney Homer, was also a composer. Louise Homer helped Barber become interested in singing. Through her, he met many great singers and learned many songs. His uncle, Sidney Homer, guided Barber for over 25 years and greatly influenced how he wrote music.

From a very young age, Barber loved music. It was clear he had a great talent for it. He started playing the piano at age six. At age seven, he wrote his first piece, "Sadness," for solo piano. Even though Barber loved music, his family wanted him to be a typical American boy who played sports, like football. But Barber was different. At age nine, he wrote a famous letter to his mother:

Dear Mother: I have written this to tell you my worrying secret. Now don't cry when you read it because it is neither yours nor my fault. I suppose I will have to tell it now without any nonsense. To begin with I was not meant to be an athlet [sic]. I was meant to be a composer, and will be I'm sure. I'll ask you one more thing.—Don't ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play football.—Please—Sometimes I've been worrying about this so much that it makes me mad (not very).

When he was 10, Barber wrote his first operetta, "The Rose Tree," with words by his family's cook. At 12, he became an organist at a local church. At 14, he joined the youth program at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He spent ten years there, becoming skilled in composition, singing, and piano. While at Curtis, he also finished West Chester High School. He even wrote his school's song, which is still used today. After high school, he continued at Curtis, graduating in 1934. There, he studied piano, composition, conducting, and voice. In 1928, he met Gian Carlo Menotti, who became his lifelong friend and fellow composer.

After graduating from Curtis, he continued his studies in conducting and singing in Vienna. He then won the Rome Prize, which allowed him to study at the American Academy in Rome from 1935 to 1937. He also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946 and studied conducting with George Szell.

Early career (1928–1941)

From his early adult years, Barber wrote many successful pieces. This quickly made him famous in the world of classical music. His early works often used traditional harmonies and beautiful, flowing melodies.

At 18, he won a prize from Columbia University for his violin sonata. He won the prize again for his first big orchestral work, an overture to The School for Scandal. He wrote this in 1931 when he was 21. It was first performed successfully two years later by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Early in his career, Barber was a professional baritone singer. He performed on NBC radio in 1935. A music historian, Barbara Heyman, noted that his recording of "Dover Beach" was praised for its "singular charm and beauty." His experience as a singer helped him write many beautiful songs for voices.

Barber's first orchestral work to gain international attention was his Symphony in One Movement. He wrote it while studying in Rome. It was first performed in Rome in 1936 and soon after in New York City. This symphony was the first by an American composer to be played at the famous Salzburg Festival in 1937.

In 1938, when Barber was 28, his Adagio for Strings was performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The famous conductor Arturo Toscanini led the performance. The Adagio was created from a slow part of Barber's String Quartet, Op. 11. Toscanini rarely performed music by American composers. After the first rehearsal, Toscanini said, "Semplice e bella" (simple and beautiful). From 1939 to 1942, Barber taught composition at the Curtis Institute.

Mid career (1942–1966)

In 1942, during World War II, Barber joined the Army Air Corps. While serving, he was asked to write several pieces for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. These included his Cello Concerto and his Second Symphony. He later tried to remove the Second Symphony from his list of works. The symphony was first performed in 1944. Barber revised it in 1947. Some stories say Barber destroyed the score in 1964, but this is debated. The music was later put back together from the individual instrument parts.

In 1943, Barber and Menotti bought a house called ‘Capricorn’ north of Manhattan. This home was their creative retreat until 1972. Barber wrote many of his most important works there in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. Here, he wrote the ballet suite Medea (1946) for Martha Graham. He also wrote Knoxville: Summer of 1915 for singer Eleanor Steber, who first performed it in 1948. In 1949, his Piano Sonata was a big success. It was first played by the famous pianist Vladimir Horowitz. This piece became a lasting part of classical piano music.

In the 1950s, Barber conducted his own works with orchestras around the world. He conducted the BSO, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. In 1953, he met the soprano singer Leontyne Price. He was looking for a singer for his song cycle Hermit Songs. Impressed by her voice, Barber asked her to perform the work with him playing the piano. Price also sang for the first performance of Barber's cantata Prayers of Kierkegaard in 1954. She became very well known for performing his music.

In 1958, Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his first opera, Vanessa. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in January 1958. The Met then took the opera to the Salzburg Festival, making it the first American opera performed there. Menotti wrote the story for Vanessa and for Barber's second opera, A Hand of Bridge.

In 1962, Barber became the first American composer to attend the Congress of Soviet Composers in Moscow. That same year, he won the Pulitzer Prize again for his Piano Concerto. This piece was one of three works he was asked to write for the opening of Lincoln Center in New York. It was performed at the opening of Philharmonic Hall in September 1962. The final work for Lincoln Center was his third opera, Antony and Cleopatra. It opened the new Metropolitan Opera House in 1966. This opera was not well received by critics at first. Barber believed it contained some of his best music and spent years revising it.

Later years (1966–1981)

After the difficult reception of his opera Antony and Cleopatra (1966), Barber faced challenges. He began to spend time alone, dividing his time between New York and a chalet in Italy. In 1970, the house 'Capricorn' was sold. Barber and Menotti remained friends after their romantic involvement ended.

During his later years, Barber continued to write music until he was almost 70. In 1967, he successfully turned his Adagio for Strings (1936) into a choral work, Agnus Dei. This piece uses Latin words about the Lamb of God and is now widely performed by choirs. In 1969, Leontyne Price performed Barber's song cycle Despite and Still. This work explored themes of loneliness and lost love. His cantata The Lovers was well received in 1971. His Third Essay for orchestra (1978) was his last major work.

Barber was in and out of the hospital from 1978 to 1981 for cancer treatment. He passed away from the disease on January 23, 1981, in his New York apartment at age 70. He was buried in Oaklands Cemetery in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His last composition, Canzone for oboe and string orchestra (1981), was published after his death. He had planned it to be a full oboe concerto but only finished the second movement.

Achievements and awards

Samuel Barber received many awards and prizes. These included the Rome Prize, two Pulitzer Prizes, and the Gold Medal for Music at the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1976. He was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 1980, he was given the Edward MacDowell Medal for his outstanding contributions to the arts.

Besides composing, Barber was active in groups that helped musicians and promoted music. He was president of the International Music Council of UNESCO. He worked to improve conditions for musicians and music organizations worldwide. He was one of the first American composers to visit Russia (then part of the Soviet Union). Barber also helped composers in their fight to get more royalties (money) for their music.

Music

Orchestral

Barber's orchestral works were very successful. His Overture to The School for Scandal (1931), Music for a Scene from Shelley (1933), Adagio for Strings (1936), Symphony in One Movement (1936), Essay for Orchestra (1937), and Violin Concerto (1939) were performed by leading conductors around the world.

He wrote four concertos: one for violin (1939), one for cello (1945), and one for piano (1962). He also wrote the Capricorn Concerto (1944) for flute, oboe, trumpet, and string orchestra. Another work for organ and orchestra was Toccata Festiva (1960).

Barber's very last piece was the Canzonetta for oboe and string orchestra (1977–78). It was meant to be part of a larger oboe concerto.

Piano

Barber's most important and often-played piano works include his Excursions, Op. 20. These pieces imitate four different American music styles, like boogie-woogie and blues. His Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 26, is also very important. The Nocturne ("Homage to John Field"), Op. 33, is another respected piano piece.

Opera

Gian Carlo Menotti wrote the story (libretto) for Barber's opera Vanessa. Menotti also wrote the libretto for Barber's shorter opera A Hand of Bridge. In 1956, Barber used his singing skills to perform and sing the score of Vanessa for the Metropolitan Opera's manager, Rudolf Bing, who accepted the work. It premiered in January 1958. Vanessa won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize and was celebrated as the first great American opera.

Barber's Antony and Cleopatra was specially requested for the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. It premiered at the opening of the Opera House on September 16, 1966. The grand production had some technical problems. Many critics felt it overshadowed Barber's music, which they thought was weak. This negative reaction deeply affected Barber, even though he believed the music was some of his best. In recent years, a revised version of Antony and Cleopatra has had more success.

Notable compositions

See also

In Spanish: Samuel Barber para niños