Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

This week Donald Macleod tells the story of the real Samuel Barber, from his childhood experiences playing amongst the shipping tags at his grandfather's factory to his final years, when he was mortally scarred by the failure of what was supposed to be his crowning achievement in music.

Along the way, he charts a number of relationships which were to make a defining impression on him, including rare interview footage with the likes of composer Gian Carlo Menotti (Barber's lifelong partner), Aaron Copland, and also the soprano Leontyne Price who became one of his most trusted collaborators.

An even more complex relationship which he battled with throughout his career was that with his country. Despite becoming that emblem of national pride, Barber never felt comfortable as a cultural ambassador for America. Even when he joined the army it was very much on his own terms, in fact he displayed impressive negotiating skills in carving himself the perfect niche as a composing combatant, able to call upon all manner of military performing resources.

But Donald Macleod begins Barber's story closer to home, in West Chester Pennsylvania, where the composer forged perhaps the most influential musical relationship in his life. His singing uncle, Sydney Homer, was to be a constant inspiration, always at hand to encourage his nephew as he became one of the first ever students at the Curtis Institute. Barber even followed him into an early singing career, as we hear in some of the few commercial recordings he made.

Donald Macleod charts Barber's early years under the wing of his singer/composer uncle.

Donald Macleod charts Barber's final years, troubled by alcoholism and creative blocks.

Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa.

Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America's most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow.

In the early 1930s, Samuel Barber was studying at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He'd originally auditioned as a pianist, and studied singing and composing too. As time went on, composing would prove to be the biggest attraction for him. One work he composed towards the end of his studies was Dover Beach, which has gone on to be regularly performed and recorded. During this period, Barber met fellow composer, Gian Carlo Menotti and they began a forty-year romantic relationship. It was whilst travelling around Italy with Menotti that Barber worked on his Cello Sonata. Another work composed on a European sojourn would become Barber's most famous works, his Adagio for Strings. It became Barber's calling card, and augured well for a composer at the start of his career.

Overture to The School for Scandal

New York Philharmonic

Thomas Schippers, conductor

Dover Beach, Op 3

Roderick Williams, baritone

Coull Quartet

Cello Sonata, Op 6 (Adagio - Presto)

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Sure on this shining night, Op 13 No 3

Samantha Clarke, soprano

Dylan Perez, piano

Nocturne, Op 13 No 4

Adagio for Strings, Op 11

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Simon Rattle, conductor

Violin Concerto, Op 14 (excerpt)

Johan Dalene, violin

Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Blendulf, conductor

Donald Macleod journeys into Samuel Barber's early career.

Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa.

Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America's most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow.

The 1940s saw Samuel Barber compose a number of significant works, including his Piano Sonata. The premier of this landmark work was the first time a major piano work by an American composer had been performed by an internationally famous virtuoso. The pianist was Vladimir Horowitz, who collaborated with Barber on its creation. Also, during this decade, Barber served in the US armed forces who commissioned him to compose his Commando March and also his Second Symphony. After the war, the conductor Koussevitsky commissioned a Cello Concerto from Barber to be performed by Raya Garbousova. In 1946, Barber collaborated with the choreographer and dancer Martha Graham on the ballet Medea.

Monks and Raisins, Op 18 No 2

Fleur Barron, mezzo-soprano

Dylan Perez, piano

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Marin Alsop, conductor

Cello Concerto, Op 22 (Andante sostenuto)

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

David Zinman, conductor

Medea Orchestral Suite, Op 23 (excerpt)

Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op 24

Julia Bullock, soprano

Philharmonia Orchestra

Christian Reif, conductor

Piano Sonata, Op 26 (excerpt)

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Donald Macleod delves into Barber's time during and after the Second World War.

Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa.

Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America's most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow.

The 1950s saw further commissions and collaborations. Barber's Hermit Songs were a commission from the famous American patron of the Arts, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, and he worked closely with the New York Woodwind Quintet while composing his Summer Music. During this decade, Barber started to have lessons as a conductor. He was invited to London to conduct and record three of his works for Decca. However, back in America, his conducting career stalled. A significant turning point came in 1956 when the Metropolitan Opera in New York, who had previously been resistant to the idea of producing an American opera, commissioned Barber to compose a work for the stage. The outcome was Vanessa, a melodrama, and another significant feather in Barber's cap.

Souvenirs, Op 28 (Galop)

Leonard Slatkin, piano

John Browning, piano

At St Patrick's Purgatory, Op 29 No 1 (Hermit Songs)

Mary Bevan, soprano

Dylan Perez, piano

The Monk and his Cat, Op 29 No 8 (Hermit Songs)

Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op 23a

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Neeme J䀀rvi, conductor

Summer Music, Op 31

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet

Vanessa, Op 32 (excerpt)

Christine Brewer (Vanessa), soprano

Susan Graham (Erika), mezzo-soprano

Simon Birchell (Nicholas) bass-baritone

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Nocturne, Op 33 (Homage to John Field)

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Donald Macleod explores a time when Barber set out to be a conductor.

Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa.

Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America's most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow.

During the 1960s, Samuel Barber looked to many of his older works as inspiration for new ones. In 1967 he took his famed Adagio for Strings and adapted it to create a choral setting of the Agnus Dei from the Latin Mass. His work Night Flight derived from his earlier work, the Symphony No 2, and Barber adapted his Canzone for flute and piano into the middle movement of his Piano Concerto. The decade also saw a significant failure for Barber, with his opera Antony and Cleopatra. He wrote the libretto himself, and in collaboration with Franco Zeffirelli who directed and staged the opera, and also designed the costumes and sets. The overall response was not good. The first performance was plagued with problems: Leontyne Price, who performed the lead role of Cleopatra, became stuck in a pyramid and was forced to sing louder in order to be heard by the audience.

My Lizard, Op 41 No 2 (Despite and Still)

Eric Cutler, tenor

Bradley Moore, piano

Canzone, Op 38a

Adam Walker, flute

James Baillieu, piano

Piano Concerto, Op 38 (Allegro appassionato)

Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano

London Symphony Orchestra

Emil Tabakov, conductor

Night Flight, Op 19a

David Maesham, conductor

Antony and Cleopatra, Op 40 (Give Me Some Music)

Leontyne Price (Cleopatre), soprano

New Philharmonia Orchestra

Thomas Schippers, conductor

Agnus Dei, Op 11

Accentus Chamber Choir

Laurence Equilbey, director

In the Wilderness, Op 41 No 3 (Despite and Still)

Donald Macleod journeys through the 1960s, when Barber composes an Egyptian opera.

Composer of the Week explores the life and music of Samuel Barber, who is only considered one of the most expressive representatives of the Romantic trend in 20th-century classical music, as well as one of the most frequently performed American composers. His most famous score is his early Adagio for Strings; some of his other breakthrough include his Piano Sonata, and the opera Vanessa.

Barber began studying piano from the age of six and started to compose from the age of seven. He went on to take composition lessons with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute of Music and, from this point, he never looked back, quickly becoming one of America's most famous composers. He wrote in many different genres, including chamber, vocal, orchestral and works for the stage, and often composed in response to significant and highly desirable commissions. He enjoyed close collaboration with the performers he wrote for, shaping his music to their individual styles and capabilities. Only towards the end of his life, when he was struggling with depression, alcoholism and also cancer, did his creative output slow.

In Samuel Barber's final decade, his relationship with his former partner, Gian Carlo Menotti, was under strain. Barber sold the house where he and Menotti had lived for nearly three decades and moved into an apartment in New York. He found a new companion during his final years. Valentin Herranz was Spanish and he became Barber's cook and housekeeper, and from there things developed. Barber was now taking on fewer commissions and his output gradually slowed. He did accept a request to write for a piano competition, for which he composed his highly popular Ballade. He also agreed to compose an oboe concerto for an old friend of his from his college days, Harold Gomberg. Barber only completed one movement and renamed the work to Canzonetta for Oboe and String Orchestra. In 1978 he was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system. He died in 1981 with Menotti at his bedside.

Third Essay, Op 47

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Neeme J䀀rvi, conductor

A Green Lowland of Pianos, Op 45 No 2

Thomas Allen, bass-baritone

Roger Vignoles, piano

Toccata festiva, Op 36

Olivier Latry, organ

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Christoph Eschenbach, conductor

The Lovers, Op 43 (excerpt)

David Farwig, baritone

Conspirare: A Company of Voices

Chamber Orchestra

Craig Hella Johnson, director

Ballade, Op 46

Eric Parkin, piano

Canzonetta, Op 48

St退phane Rancourt, oboe

Royal Scottish National Orchestra,

Marin Alsop, conductor

Donald Macleod delves into Samuel Barber's final years of emotional turmoil.