Samuel Barber (1910-1981)  Violin Concerto, Op. 12

      As one of the most successful  and beloved American, Barber’s music is actually very Romantic and European in character, and features very little “Americana”.  Oblivious to the dogmatic modernism of his time, Barber, like his close friend Menotti, adhered tonality and natural beauty in his music.  His lugubrious Adagio for Strings is one of his best-known pieces and an example of this neo-romantic style, as is his Violin Concerto. 

      The concerto was commissioned in 1939 for $1000 (adjusted to inflation in 2003: approx. $12,000).  Barber traveled to Switzerland and France to concentrate on the piece, but his trip was cut short due to the escalation of World War II.  He returned to his native Pennsylvania to complete the work, but the sponsor of the piece rejected it, on grounds that the first two movements are “too simple and not brilliant enough for a concerto” while the third movement is “unplayable.”  Barber described the concerto as “rather lyrical and intimate.”  The first two movements are calm and are full of a tender grace.   The last movement features a perpetual motion of fast triplets, and is very different in character.  The work was premiered in Philadelphia 1941 and was an “exceptional popular success.”  It remains a favorite composition in the American repertoire.