Symphony No. 2 (Barber)
Symphony No. 2, Op. 19 is a three-movement work for orchestra by the American composer
History
Composition
Samuel Barber began his composition career at the age of seven. He was accepted in the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music at age 14. He received critical acclaim for his early compositions including the Overture to the School for Scandal and Adagio for Strings. His early success led to a commission from the United States Air Force in 1943 to write a "symphonic work about flyers". The request came soon after he joined the United States Army in 1942. Barber spent time at a U.S. Air Force base so that he could take part in flight training and battle simulations.[1] He was given four months to write the piece with the understanding that the army would receive all of the royalties forever.[2]
General Barton K. Yount approached Samuel Barber about the commission and asked him to include "modern devices" in the composition. Barber honored this request by using an electronic tone-generator built by
Premiere
Symphony No. 2 was premiered on March 3, 1944, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Serge Koussevitzky conducted the premiere performance at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA.[4]
Revisions
Samuel Barber withdrew the symphony in 1964 and ordered the destruction of the score and parts. His explanation implied to some that his piece was war propaganda. He went on to say, "Times of cataclysm are rarely conducive to the creation of good music, especially when the composer tries to say too much. But the lyrical voice, expressing the dilemma of the individual, may still be of reverence." Barber initially thought that the symphony was one of his finest works. However, after twenty years with infrequent performances, he decided that the symphony was, in his words, "not a good work".[5]
A set of orchestral parts that somehow escaped destruction were found in an English G. Schirmer warehouse in 1984. The parts were returned to New York where they were used for a recording by the
Reception
The original release of Barber's Symphony No. 2 was widely criticized for various reasons. Several critics felt that the work was little more than war time
Analysis
The thematic material of Symphony No. 2 is designed to emulate the sensation of flying. Barber was very clear that he did not view the symphony as program music.[11] However, in his program notes he mentions that the first movement was meant to capture the excitement of flying while the second movement was inspired by his night flights. The final movement begins with very fast string passages with no barlines to express the sensation of flight.[12] Samuel Barber uses tension and release throughout to create a greater sense of energy. His use of ostinatos, polytonality,[13] dissonance, and angular lines create a work that can be described as one of Barber's most progressive works.[14] Barber would later revise the work and state that the symphony has no programmatic intentions.[11]
Movement I
The first movement is in simple triple time and marked allegro ma non troppo. This movement, in
Movement II
The second movement is in 5/4 time and marked andante, un poco mosso. The slow movement features solos by the
Movement III
The third movement is in fast triple time and marked presto, senza battuta. The third movement is the most technical movement of the entire symphony. The final movement begins with a spiral figure for the strings in free rhythm that is interrupted by the brass section. This leads to a set of variations and a short fugue. The spiral section returns in the brass and also in the coda, which brings the work to an exciting finish. The final movement lasts approximately nine minutes.[17]
Notable recordings
Barber's Symphony No. 2 has been recorded by over a dozen orchestras. A 1951 recording of the 1947 revised version of Symphony No. 2 is available by the New Symphony Orchestra with Samuel Barber conducting. The monaural recording was originally released on a ten-inch LP by London Records, who reissued it in 1956 on a twelve-inch disc, coupled with the ballet suite from Medea. This coupling was again reissued in 1970 on Everest Records, and in 1965 a new pairing of the symphony with Barber's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, conducted by Barber with the same orchestra and Zara Nelsova, cello, was issued in London on the Ace of Clubs imprint of Decca Records. More recently, this recording of the symphony was released on CD by Pavilion Records in 2001.[18] A recording of the broadcast of the world premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra is held by the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.[19] This recording has been released commercially on CD by AS Disc in 1989, and by Pristine Audio in 2017 as part of Koussevitzky Conducts Barber, PASC 217.
See also
References
- JSTOR 941940.
- ^ Barbara Heyman. Samuel Barber: The Composer and his Music, 216–218. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 217.
- ^ Richard Whitehouse. Liner notes to Symphony No. 2, Op. 19. Naxos 8.559024. Compact disc. 2000.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 229–230.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 231.
- ^ Pollack, Second Symphony, 958–959.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 230–231.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 224, 229.
- JSTOR 739546.
- ^ a b Heyman, Samuel Barber, 223.
- ^ a b Whitehouse, Liner Notes
- ^ Broder, "The Music of Samuel Barber", 345
- ^ Nathan Broder. Samuel Barber, 81–87. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1954.
- ^ a b Heyman, Samuel Barber, 221
- ^ Pollack, Second Symphony, 959
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 221.
- ^ Samuel Barber and the New Symphony Orchestra. Symphony No. 2, Op. 19. © 2001 by Pavilion Records. GEM 0151. Compact disc.
- ^ Heyman, Samuel Barber, 219.