The Piano Sonata in

E-flat minor E-flat minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative key is G-flat major (or enharmonically F-sharp major) and its parallel key is E-flat major. ...

, Op. 26 was written by

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

in 1949 for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the

League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...

. Commissioned by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

and

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

, it was first performed by

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

and has remained a popular concert staple since.Hans Tischler, "Barber's Piano Sonata Op. 26", ''Music & Letters'' 33, no. 4 (October 1952): 352–54. http://ml.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/XXXIII/4/352

History

In 1950, the League of Composers, a society aimed at promoting new American works, met for the twenty-fifth anniversary of its inception. Samuel Barber set to work writing a piano sonata for the occasion, and requested Vladimir Horowitz to perform it. His demands were met, and the work was received with overwhelming critical acclaim. Funding for the League of Composers commission was donated by Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers. Horowitz premiered the Sonata in Havana, Cuba, on December 9, 1949, followed by performances in Cleveland and Washington, DC, before presenting the work at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1950.

Structure

The sonata is in four movements, and usually takes twenty minutes to perform:Eric Brisson, "Barber – Sonata for Piano, Op. 26". http://www.pianopedia.com/w_1097_barber.aspx (4 March 2010) #

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

energico #Allegro

vivace In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

e leggero #

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adagi ...

mesto #

Fuga Fuga Island is an island and barangay located north of Luzon and is part of the Babuyan Islands, which is the second-northernmost island group of the Philippines. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the munic ...

: Allegro con spirito Though extremely difficult to execute, the sonata is much more than a virtuosic showpiece. Barber integrated many

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...

musical ideas into the sonata, including extended chromaticism and

tone row In music, a tone row or note row (german: Reihe or '), also series or set, is a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets ar ...

s. The first movement begins with a raucous theme, presented in both clefs. Barber's unique use of tone row patterns is immediately prevalent, and it is through these patterns that the

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and thematic material is developed. The movement ends like it begins, rather abruptly. The second movement, much lighter in tone than the first, serves somewhat as a

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...

and is far more tonally centered than the first. The opening motif is repeated throughout the entire movement in a variety of patterns and keys, often shifting semi-tonally. Almost as effortlessly as it starts, the second movement drifts off into the third with a high arpeggio. Like the first movement, the thematic material in the third is presented through tone rows and chromatic figures. The third movement builds up tension through its use of highly

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...

chord progressions, and is much darker than the second. The fourth movement is a classic fugue of ferocious virtuosity that makes strenuous technical demands of the performer. The main theme of the fugue, a three-bar chromatic syncopated melody, is developed over multiple variations and modulations, moving between hands and, midway through the piece, yielding to a brief E-major interlude with allusions to American Western folk music and Barber's earlier piano composition

Excursions An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Pu ...

. The fugue's lengthy climax restates the main theme in a dazzling cadenza leading to a jazz-tinged block chord quotation and then a restatement in octaves over a striking

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

motif in the left hand.

Notable recordings

, released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

Moura Lympany Dame Moura Lympany DBE (18 August 191628 March 2005) was an English concert pianist. Biography She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother original ...

, broadcast live and recorded BBC Maida Vale Studio 2, London, 7 December 1950, released by

DECCA Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

Eloquence, "Moura Lympany. The DECCA Years", in 2019 *

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (; July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist who, at the age of 23, achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold Wa ...

, released by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Terence Judd Terence Judd (3 October 1957between 16 and 23 December 1979) was an English pianist. Career Terence Judd was born in 1957 to English- American parents, Anthony and Gloria Judd. In 1967, aged 10, he won the National Junior Pianoforte Competition, ...

, released by Chandos *

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

, released in August 2004 by HyperionIves & Barber: Piano Sonatas
/ref> *

John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms many of which are still in use around the world. He m ...

, released by Phoenix USA *

Stephen Beus Stephen Beus (born 1981, Othello, Washington, United States) is an American pianist. Biography Stephen Beus began taking piano lessons at age 5, and made his symphonic debut at age 9. He won the MTNA National Competition at the high school level ...

, released by Endeavour Classics *

Olga Kern Olga Vladimirovna Kern (russian: Ольга Владимировна Керн; born Olga Pushechnikova, 23 April 1975) is a Russian American, Russian-American classical pianist. She became an American citizen in 2016. Early life Olga Kern was bor ...

, released by

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

Daniel Pollack Daniel Pollack is an American pianist. Biography Early life and education Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Pollack began his studies at the age of four and made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of nine, performing the ...

, released by

NAXOS Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

Grammy Nomination * Joel Fan, released in April 2009 by Reference RecordingsJoel Fan — West of The Sun: Music of the Americas"
/ref>ClassicsToday.com Joel Fan Recording Review"
/ref>Gramophone Magazine Joel Fan Recording Review
/ref> * Leon McCawley, released in January 2010 by

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

Samuel Barber-Adagio (100th Anniversary)
/ref> *Christopher Atzinger, released by MSR Classics *Isata Kanneh-Mason, released in 2021 by Decca *Willis Delony, released in 1989 by Centaur Records

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Samuel Barber

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

1949 compositions Compositions in E-flat minor

History

Structure

Notable recordings

See also

References