samuel barber

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Samuel Barber. Biography. Early Life. Born: March 9, 1910 He was the oldest of two children He was raised in West Chester, New york Parents: Marguerite McLeod (Pianist) Samuel Le Roy Barber (Physician) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Samuel Barber

BiographySamuel Barber

1Early LifeBorn: March 9, 1910He was the oldest of two children He was raised in West Chester, New yorkParents:Marguerite McLeod (Pianist)Samuel Le Roy Barber (Physician)Samuel was musically inclined from a very young age, and never had any desire to pursue any other paths.

Samuel Osborne Barber II was born the oldest of two children on March 9, 1981. His mother, Marguerite McLeod was a pianist and his father Samuel Le Roy Barber was a physician. He was raised in a distinguished Episcopalian Irish-American family, who settled in West Chester, New York. From a very young age Samuel was musically inclined, and spoke often of making it his career, and putting forth no other options. His mother wanted him to pursue athletics, but upon receiving a letter from Samuel about his musical aspirations and love for music she relented and allowed him to do as he wished. Marguerite was in fact the provider of Samuels initial lessons in music.2Musical TrainingAfter her initial reluctance, Samuels mother became his first teacher and laid the groundwork for his musical career.William Hatton was his first formal teacherHe completed his first musical at the age of sevenSamuel was considered a child prodigy Other influences included:His Aunt, Louise Homer, sang at the Metropolitan OperaHis Uncle, Sydney Homer, was a composer. After his mother, Samuels first formal teachings came from William Hatton Green. As was noted previously Samuels musical ability as a youth was astounding; he was considered a child prodigy. He completed his first musical at the age of seven, and later as a ten year old his first opera titled The Rose Tree. Samuel had many musical influences as a child besides his mother and early instructors. His aunt, Louise Homer sang at the Metropolitan Opera and her husband Sydney Homer was a composer. Through these individuals he was introduced to many singers. 3Musical Training ContinuedAt 14 years old Samuel enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music in PhiladelphiaHe chose to study three disciplines initially:CompositionPianoVoicewww.curtis.edu He was able to study under numerous renown musicians, furthering his education.While attending school he was the recipient of numerous awards, allowing him to finance further education in Europe. At the age of 14 Samuel enrolled in and began training at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He chose to study three different factions of music while there: composition, piano, as well as voice. It was here that he was exposed to world-renowned musicians like Emilio de Gogorza, Isabelle Vengerova, Rosario Scalero, and Fritz Reiner. During this time he became the favorite of the founder of the school, Mary Louise Curtis Bok. Through this relationship Samuel was introduced to his lifelong publisher, G Schirmer Inc. He won numerous prizes during his tenure at the Curtis Institute; the money he won allowed him to travel to Europe.4Early CareerSamuels career began as his studies in Philadelphia concludedInitial successes included:A radio show dedicated entirely to his musicThe symphonic poem, A Scene from Shelley was a massive success at Carnegie Hall.He became the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize Travelling Scholarship that allowed him to attend the American Academy of Rome. Towards the end of his studies in Philadelphia Samuels career began to take off. Some initial successes included a radio show dedicated specifically to his music, a symphonic poem, The music for a Scene from Shelley was a massive success at Carnegie Hall, and he won a Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship that allowed him to attend the American Academy of Rome. While in Rome many of Samuels notable works were composed including: First Symphony, Sure on this Shining Night, and String Quartet. 5American Academy of RomeWorks composed while in Rome:First SymphonySure on this Shining NightString Quartet

Significant Achievements His compositions were performed by the following groups or individuals:Vladimir HorowitzEleanor SteberRaya Garbousova(more info in later slides)John BrowningThe Philadelphia OrchestraNBC Symphony OrchestraBarber continued to grow in popularity, as well as skill. Notable groups such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra performed many of his compositions. Along with these Orchestras, a number of his works were first performed by the likes of Vladimir Horowitz, Eleanor Steber, Raya Garbousova, John Browning, Leontyne Price, Pierre B (Samuel Barber)ernac, Francis Poulenc, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In 1938 he wrote his most famous work Adagio for Strings and the NBC Orchestra performed it under the direction of Arturo Toscanini; this was significant as Toscanini only occasionally performed works by American composers. He later described Samuels work as simple and beautiful. (Samuel Barber)7Famous WorksIn 1938 he wrote his most famous work Adagio for Strings and the NBC Orchestra performed it under the direction of Arturo Toscanini; this was significant as Toscanini only occasionally performed works by American composers. A highlight of his career was the commission he received to write a concerto for Raya Garbousova, a famous Russian Cellist. His Cello Concerto went on to be one of his best compositions, and a personal favoriteIn the early 1940s Samuels career was briefly interrupted by World War II; during his service in the Army Air Corps he started on Second Symphony. This work was originally titled Symphony Dedicated to the Air Forces. It was finished in 1943 and played a year later by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His career after the war was a great success. One of the highlights of this period was the commission he received to write a concerto for Raya Garbousova, who was a famous Russian Cellist. His Cello Concerto went on to be one of his best compositions, and a personal favorite. 8Later LifeA few years after his success with his Cello Concerto Samuels luck took a turn for the worse. In a short span his Father, little sister, and Aunt Louise passed away. Adding to his grief was the negative reviews of his opera, Antony and CleopatraSamuel fell into depression and struggled with Alcoholism.To his credit, Samuel continued to write music and never allowed morbidity to pass into his works.In 1981 and the age of 70 Samuel Barber passed away after living a purpose filled life. Cello ConcertoJanuary 1945:As a young corporal in the US Army Air Force Barber was commissioned by John Brown, on behalf of Raya Garbousova, to compose a cello concerto. Garbousova was a well known cellists at the time.While he was writing Samuel had Garbousova play every piece in her repertoire so he could better understand her style.Eleven months later in November 1945 the work was completedThe composition was made up of three parts:Allegro ModeratoAndante SostenutoMolto Allegro e Appassionato

Serge Koussevitzky, who was at the time in his 20th year as the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was a main force behind the project. He even helped secure an early release from the military for Barber. While composing, Barber requested that Garbousova play her entire repertoire for him so he could better understand her style. The Concerto was finally completed about eleven months later in November of 1945. It is made up of three movements: 1. Allegro Moderato, 2. Andante Sostenuto, and 3. Molto Allegro e appassionato. 10Cello Concerto ContinuedIt premiered on April 4, 1946 in Bostons Symphony Hall. Although the premier was successful, it enjoyed greater acclaim while on tour at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Later that year the concerto received the Fifth Annual Award as exceptional among orchestral compositions performed for the first time during the concert season. Serge Koussevitzky was allegedly quoted as saying that he thought Barbers work would be to the 20th century what Brahms violin concerto was to the 19th.

Listening Guide to Samuel BarbersCello Concerto

Listening Guide: 0:00 Introduction - This piece begins with great forte dynamics. The melody of this section seems to form an arch. Starting with the three notes, adding more notes with a faster tempo, and then ending with the same three notes it started with.0:07 - Here the volume decrescendos a little bit to a softer dynamic. The melody here starts to become clear. It creates a wave like image going from one note, jumping to a higher note, and then down to the first. 0:19 - The music begins to have a darker fill to it. The pitch goes way down, the tempo is uneven with gaps between notes creating a feeling of suspense. 0:28 Chorus - The wave like melody reappears along with the even and steady harmony. The rhythm is calming due to the notes being held longer on the strings. 0:41 - The melody of this section is simple. It is four solid beats with the same low pitch. The harmony is the underlying strings going back and forth on two notes.

The rhythm here is fairly consistent during the first 6 seconds of this piece. It has a moderately fast beat, which could be described as allegro. The timbre, in just a short amount of time, creates depth for this piece. You can hear the instruments playing the same note, but there is a hint of some of the notes having a slightly lower tone than the others. The texture is monophonic because although we can hear some timbre, the instruments are all playing the same note; there is no harmony.

There are a few measures where the music plays eighth notes, but for the most part the beats for the notes are the same. The timbre is the same as in the intro, noticeable in the instruments tone, but there is only one instrument being played.

13Listening Guide Continued1:05 The melody seems to be in a minor key. It has that sad tone to it. The harmony is only in the first 10 seconds of the clip. It sounds like one solid note for the entire 10 seconds.1:51 This whole section has a forum repeating the notes of the melody in different keys, tempos, dynamics, and each time it is repeated a new instrument joins in. 3:02 Chorus 4:18 This section shows a lot of similarities to 1:05. Its form is the same repetitive melody and rhythm. 4:47 The melody here follows the same pattern as section 1:51. It has the same flow and essence along with a few added surprises. The dynamics here change frequently using a lot of crescendos and decrescendos. 5:39 The melody here is not present until a few seconds in. The harmony starts and is very staccato.7:16 - The wave like melody reappears along with the even and steady harmony. The rhythm is calming due to the notes being held longer on the strings. Each note flows right into the other creating fluidity through this section.

It starts out pretty fast jumping around between three pitches then gets faster as it crescendos a little. About half through this segment this particular melody slows down still continuing to crescendo slightly. The forum here is a repetition of the melody with a variation of pitch and rhythm. The texture is more unison is about half way through. It sounds like a solo cello playing.

This time the timbre and texture come from the added drum beat and staccato strings played in between the measures where the cellos are playing. It is played in a minor key like section 1:05, but I could not any harmony this time.

The texture is very homophonic. There are several different instruments being played throughout this section, each with their own part. The rhythm varies as the section continues. It is parallel with the dynamics. As it gets louder the rhythm gets faster.

14Listening Guide Continued.. 8:33 The melody here is very soothing and relaxing. It is soft and very melodic. The rhythm is slow and even then changes to fast and unsteady. The Tempo changes to fast chopping then goes back to slow and smooth. 10:24 Chorus 12:32 Finale - The melody feels like a chase in harmony with the drums. The rhythm is fast and lively. The texture is homophonic with all the instruments playing at once. It switches back and forth between having the instruments play and then only have a few play.

. It helps differentiate which instrument is played when. The texture is homophonic creating depth again because of the range of pitches and instruments used. This section is powerful due to the use of crescendos at the beginning and a decrescendo at the end. It provides a dream like feel. The forum is repetitive of the melody with the harmony changing through out the section. It slowly fades into silence at the end to get ready for a new section.

There are only a few instances where you can hear it really well. The dynamic gradually gets louder through out the section and as it increases the rhythm does slightly as well. The harmony is present later in the section when the rhythm is a steady beat with short fast strokes from the cellos. The forum starts to repeat after the rhythm, tempo, and dynamics are at their highest point and then leads into the chorus with a fast tempo

The rhythm slows down for a second only to pick back up with more speed and energy. The harmony is incredible. You can hear each instrument and the part they are playing. The timbre is also easy to hear due to the fact that so many instruments are playing different parts. It is also easy to hear because of the way the song is written. There is a section where each instrument has its turn to stand out. It concludes with all the instruments playing in harmony and with a loud crescendo.

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