March 9
Samuel
Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer
of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. He is one of the most celebrated
composers of the 20th century; music critic Donal Henahan stated that
"Probably no other American composer has ever enjoyed such early, such
persistent and such long-lasting acclaim. His Adagio for Strings (1936) has
earned a permanent place in the concert repertory of orchestras.
He was twice
awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music, for his opera Vanessa (1956–57) and his
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1962). Also widely performed is his
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947), a work for soprano and orchestra, which sets
a prose text by James Agee. Unusual among contemporary composers, nearly all of
his compositions have been recorded.
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