Post by erik on Sept 23, 2022 8:53:20 GMT -5
This Classical Works Spotlight focuses on the very first significant orchestral work of one of America's greatest composers, Samuel Barber.
Barber: SERENADE FOR STRINGS, OP. 1
Though his music could sometimes seem archaic when compared to his fellow American composers Aaron Copland and, in terms of African-American music, William Grant Still, Samuel Barber nevertheless maintains a special place in the realm of American music. In his time, Barber managed to compose orchestral works that could be deemed American Romanticism, perhaps our equivalent to Rachmaninoff, although even that could appear to be a bit simplistic. The composer’s first work for orchestra, the one marked Opus 1, is his 1929 Serenade For Strings, a short three-movement, nine-minute work whose predecessors were those similar works for string orchestra by Dvorak, Elgar and, if one wants to go far enough, even Mozart (“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, the Serenade No, 13). Barber’s Serenade would, in later years, of course be overshadowed by the 1934 Adagio For Strings, which would be, in the words of conductor Leonard Slatkin, America’s music for mourning. But the Serenade For Strings would remain a favorite of chamber orchestras throughout America, given its modernist and experimental nature, although it avoids overt dissonance. The three movements are marked as follows: (1) Un Poco Adagio; (2) Andante Con Moto; and (3) Allegro Giocoso. The final movement is the most joyful and light of the three; and it certainly indicates that Barber was never all about melancholia.
San Diego Chamber Orchestra/DONALD BARRA (Koch Classics)
Included:
HORIZON
SUMMER MUSIC FOR WOODWIND QUINTET (Arioso Wind Quintet)
CAPRICORN CONCERTO FOR FLUTE, OBOE, TRUMPET, AND ORCHESTRA (Flute: LINDA LUKAS; Oboe: PEGGY MICHEL; Trumpet: JOHN WILDS
ADAGIO FOR STRINGS, OP. 11
Barber: SERENADE FOR STRINGS, OP. 1
Though his music could sometimes seem archaic when compared to his fellow American composers Aaron Copland and, in terms of African-American music, William Grant Still, Samuel Barber nevertheless maintains a special place in the realm of American music. In his time, Barber managed to compose orchestral works that could be deemed American Romanticism, perhaps our equivalent to Rachmaninoff, although even that could appear to be a bit simplistic. The composer’s first work for orchestra, the one marked Opus 1, is his 1929 Serenade For Strings, a short three-movement, nine-minute work whose predecessors were those similar works for string orchestra by Dvorak, Elgar and, if one wants to go far enough, even Mozart (“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”, the Serenade No, 13). Barber’s Serenade would, in later years, of course be overshadowed by the 1934 Adagio For Strings, which would be, in the words of conductor Leonard Slatkin, America’s music for mourning. But the Serenade For Strings would remain a favorite of chamber orchestras throughout America, given its modernist and experimental nature, although it avoids overt dissonance. The three movements are marked as follows: (1) Un Poco Adagio; (2) Andante Con Moto; and (3) Allegro Giocoso. The final movement is the most joyful and light of the three; and it certainly indicates that Barber was never all about melancholia.
San Diego Chamber Orchestra/DONALD BARRA (Koch Classics)
Included:
HORIZON
SUMMER MUSIC FOR WOODWIND QUINTET (Arioso Wind Quintet)
CAPRICORN CONCERTO FOR FLUTE, OBOE, TRUMPET, AND ORCHESTRA (Flute: LINDA LUKAS; Oboe: PEGGY MICHEL; Trumpet: JOHN WILDS
ADAGIO FOR STRINGS, OP. 11