Barber Adagio For Strings

Barber’s Adagio seems to access a deep well of sadness,
heartache, passion, and nostalgia in the listener that is very
difficult to explain.  As dozens of commentators have noted,
there is nothing in particular in the piece which is particularly
remarkable.  There are no great harmonic innovations, no
formal surprises, nothing NEW, at all. In fact, the music was
completely anachronistic for its time.  Despite all of that,
or perhaps because of it, Barber’s Adagio has become perhaps the
most well known piece of American classical music in the world.
 It became even more famous after its use in the Vietnam War
Movie Platoon.  It was played at the funeral of Franklin
Roosevelt and Robert Kennedy, and was performed to an empty hall
after the assassination of John F Kennedy.  A deeply
emotional performance of the piece was done at the Last Night of
the Proms, a traditionally celebratory affair, on September 12th,
2001.  Simply put, this piece has come to symbolize SADNESS
in music.  But would it surprise you to hear that the Barber
Adagio for Strings wasn’t originally for string orchestra at all?
 That it was the second movement of a string quartet,
sandwiched by movements that were much more modernist and
“forward-thinking” than its slow movement?  Would it
surprise you that sadness might never have been the intention of
Barber in the piece?  Well, let’s take a closer look at
Barber’s Adagio this week - how the piece works, what originally
surrounded it, it’s different arrangements, and its tempo. Join
us!