Samuel Barber
1910-1981
Most famously a Neo-Romantic composer, Barber's music looked back to the 19th Century while still being firmly fixed within the 20th Century.
With that in mind, his was an original voice, where I still find curiosities abounding in his music, and not altogether without a sense of humor.
I am most familiar with his vocal songs and choral music, and I consider his contributions to solo voice as one of the finest in the 20th Century.
The composer himself was a studied singer and pianist, where you can still find him performing in these musical roles on recordings.
Barber does not have a vast output of compositions, yet his oeuvre contains a solid mix of large-scale music, such as operas and symphonies, and intimate musical pieces.
Recordings and reviews currently on hand (Click below to visit):
1988: Songs (Alexander)
1990: Medea
1990: Fadograph of a Yestern Scene
1993: Orchestral Songs (Alexander)
1994: Songs (Hampson / Studer)
1995: Horizon
1996: Choral Music
1997: Souvenirs (Orchestral)
1998: Prayers of Kierkegaard
1998: Summer Music
1998: Symphony 1 & 2
2001: Orchestral Music
2003: Concertos (set)
1991: Symphony 1, Piano Concerto, Souvenirs
1996: Violin, Cello, Capricorn Concertos
2004: Canzonetta
2004: Mutations from Bach
2004: Reincarnations
2012: The Lovers
2013: Chamber Music
2021: Hand of Bridge
Of the items on the list above I haven't reviewed (those not in orange) but have listened to over the years, I can heartily recommend a few. Souvenirs is almost akin to listening to George Gershwin, Leroy Anderson, or Ferde Grofé - very populous pleasing and an easy introduction to the composer, even if it is a bit unlike the rest of his oeuvre.
I really like Barber's complete ballet music to Medea, sometimes sub-labeled Cave of the Heart. If you have heard Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, which you should start with, the 30-minute ballet just contains more of the same. I love the main orchestral theme and the ostinato boogie-woogie piano is a blast. Barber's music might not be as horrific as Medea's story, it works just fine for this listener. Add to this Mutations from Bach, with a its focus on brass, and you have a lot of fun Barber music.
A Hand of Bridge is an oddity. A nine-minute (!) opera which catches four characters playing the card game Bridge. They sing of the game, but each are swept away by their inner thoughts, which have little to do with Bridge, but instead express their personal wishes, fears, and frustrations. It is a hoot!
Horizon, Fadograph, Canzonetta, and Summer Music are each of Barber's introspective, lyrical, and sometimes craggy Americana. I find them rather slight works, but they are interesting to hear if you have surveyed a lot of his music beforehand. Not favorites of mine by a long stretch though, so I would start elsewhere if just beginning with Barber.