大象传媒

Donald Macleod journeys through the 1950s when Barber composed his opera Vanessa.

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鈥檚 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鈥檚 cap.

Souvenirs, Op 28 (Galop)
Leonard Slatkin, piano
John Browning, piano

At St Patrick鈥檚 Purgatory, Op 29 No 1 (Hermit Songs)
Mary Bevan, soprano
Dylan Perez, piano

The Monk and his Cat, Op 29 No 8 (Hermit Songs)
Mary Bevan, soprano
Dylan Perez, piano

Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op 23a
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Neeme J盲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
大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Nocturne, Op 33 (Homage to John Field)
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano

Produced by Luke Whitlock