Barber, Samuel (1910-81), American composer, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes in music (1958, 1963). He was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and trained in singing, conducting, piano, and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. One of the best-known American composers of the neoromantic school, he received the Prix de Rome (1935), Pulitzer Traveling Scholarships in music (1935, 1936), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1945). Among his compositions for orchestra are the overture to The School for Scandal (1933), Adagio for Strings (1936), and two symphonies (1936 and 1944); concertos for violin (1940), cello (1945), and piano (1962); and the ballets Medea (1946), written for the American dancer Martha Graham, and Score for Poème (1970). The Adagio for Strings was performed again in 1938 by the NBC orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini and was highly acclaimed. Barber also composed works for chorus, chamber ensemble, and piano, and he is noted for his ability to craft vocal melodies. His first opera, Vanessa (1958), was composed with a libretto by his friend Gian Carlo Menotti and earned Barber a Pulitzer Prize. His Piano Concerto No. 1 won Barber his second Pulitzer Prize (1963). Barber's second opera, Antony and Cleopatra (1966), was commissioned for the opening performance at the new Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. In 1971 he composed the orchestral pieces The Lovers and Fudograph of a Yestern Scene. He composed Third Essay for Orchestra in 1981.
"Barber, Samuel," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
