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Samuel Barber centennial

 

(Video: Barber String Quartet, No 1, in b minor, Op11, mvt 2-3)

Today, March 9th, marks 100 years since the birth of Samuel Barber, the great American composer.

Barber's most famous work is his Adagio for Strings. In a nice piece in the New York Times, Johanna Keller writes: "If any music can come close to conveying the effect of a sigh, or courage in the face of tragedy, or hope, or abiding love, it is this." The Adagio has been used in multiple films (including "Platoon", "The Elephant Man" and "Lorenzo's Oil"), and more recently has been remixed by DJs and rappers. Despite its ubiquity, it still moves us.

Here it is in its original form, as the slow movement of his string quartet, Opus 11.

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