American composer Samuel Barber wrote his Adagio for Strings in 1936 and it has become one of the most beloved pieces in American music. Barber knew right away that he had created something special. He wrote to a friend: "I have just finished a slow movement...and it's a knockout!" It might seem a little incongruous that Barber used a boxing metaphor for his piece that touches the very depth of the human soul. But he was right. Barber's Adagio became a favorite right away. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear the story behind Barber's Adagio and a performance of it from a concert in Athens, Georgia.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Phillipe Gaubert: Madrigal
James Galway flute; Phillip Moll, piano; London Mozart Players
Music for My Little Friends
RCA 63725
Igor Stravinsky: Concerto in D Major for String Orchestra
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Edo de Waart, conductor
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Quartet in D Major, K. 285
Sir James Galway, flute; Arianna Warsaw-Fan, violin; Philip Kramp, viola; Meta Weiss, cello
Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, GA
Gabriel Faure: Pelleas and Melisande Suite, Op. 80
River Oaks Chamber Orchestra; Tanya Ratner, conductor
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
Hour 2
Jean Sibelius: Humoresque, Op. 89, No. 1
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
RCA 60444
Johann Friedrich Fasch: Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D minor, FaWV L:d4
James Austin Smith, oboe; Livia Sohn, violin; Geoff Nuttall, violin; Mark Steinberg, violin; Misha Amory, viola; Nina Lee, cello; Anthony Manzo, bass; Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series; Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11
The Knights
Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, GA
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 105
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra; Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
Cité de la Musique, Paris
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About Performance Today®
To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.
American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.
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