The String Quartet in

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...

, Op. 11, was composed in 1935–36 by

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...

. He arranged the middle movement for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

as his well-known '' Adagio for Strings'' in 1936. Barber continued to revise the piece, particularly the finale, until 1943. # Molto allegro e appassionato # Molto adagio ttacca# Molto allegro (come prima) Begun while living in Austria with his partner

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

after Barber's

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, the composr intended that the quartet be premiered by the Curtis String Quartet, but did not finish the piece in time for their concert tour. On September 19, 1936, Barber wrote their cellist Orlando Cole: "I have just finished the slow movement of my quartet today—it is a knockout! Now for a Finale." Having completed a finale, the

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

was premiered in its provisional form by the Pro Arte Quartet on December 14, 1936, at the Villa Aurelia in Rome. Afterwards, Barber withdrew the finale so as to rewrite it, which he did by April 1937. He rewrote it again before it was published. The final form was premiered by the Budapest Quartet on May 28, 1943, at the

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in Washington, D.C. The opening movement is in

sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...

, the second movement a famous adagio, and the final version of the finale, added to the second movement ''

attacca A variety of musical terms is encountered in Sheet music, printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms Italian musical terms used in English, are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conv ...

'', is shortened, lasting two minutes, and revisits themes from the opening movement, thereby creating a cyclic form for the quartet.Keller (2011), p.12. The opening movement has three theme areas, the first a dramatic motif stated in unison by all four instruments, the second slinky

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

like music, and the third a yearning lyrical melody. The quartet as a whole is in the key of B minor, but the central movement is in B minor.Keller (2011), p.13. The materials of the second movement consist of "a very slow and extended melody built from stepwise intervals, slightly varied in its numerous repetitions, uncoiling over (or in the midst of) sustained chords that change with note-by-note reluctance, all of it building into a powerful climax at the high end of the instruments' range and then quickly receding to the contemplative quietude that ultimately defines this musical expanse." Barber accepted a commission for a second string quartet in 1947, but never got past a few pages of sketches.

Discography

* Alexander String Quartet – ''Thealexanderstringquartet'' (1992, Amplitude CLCD-2009, CD) *Beaux-Arts String Quartet – ''Diamond: String Quartet No. 4; Barber: String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11'' (1965, Epic LC 3907, LP) * Borodin Quartet – ''Kvartet'' (1961, Artia MK 1563, monaural LP; also issued as M zhdunarodnaya ygaKHN 558–63, and MK D 06173(a) – D 06174(a)) *Chester String Quartet – ''The Chester String Quartet'' (1991, Koch International Classics 3-7069-2 H1, CD) * Cleveland Quartet – ''Barber: String Quartet, op. 11; Ives: String Quartet No. 2'' (1976, RCA Red Seal ARL1-1599, LP) * Composers String Quartet – ''American Classics for String Quartet'' (1983, Musical Heritage Society MHS 4823, LP) * Concord String Quartet – with

George Rochberg George Rochberg (July 5, 1918May 29, 2005) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Long a serialism, serial composer, Rochberg abandoned the technique after his teenage son died in 1964, saying it had proved inadequate to expres ...

, String Quartet No. 7 (with baritone, 1979), and Barber, ''Dover Beach'' (1983, Nonesuch 78017, LP) *Dickermann Quartett Frankfurt – ''Barber: Streichquartett Op. 11'' (1984, Thorofon Capella MTH 275, LP) *

Emerson String Quartet The Emerson String Quartet, also known as the Emerson Quartet, was an American string quartet initially formed as a student group at the Juilliard School in 1976. It was named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and began touri ...

– ''American Originals'' (1993, Deutsche Grammophon)MusicBrainz: release: American Originals: Ives / Barber String Quartets
/ref> * Endellion String Quartet – ''Dover Beach, Serenade, Songs, String Quartet'' (1993, Virgin Classics 7243 5 45033, CD) * Endellion String Quartet – ''American Classics: Samuel Barber'' (2009, EMI Classics) * Cypress String Quartet – ''The American Album'' (2011, Cypress Performing Arts Association) * Lindsay String Quartet – ''Twenty-five Years Lindsay String Quartet "Live"'' (1992, ASV CD DCA 825, CD) *Serafin String Quartet – ''Serafin String Quartet'' (2010, Centaur CRC 3050, CD) *Stradivari Records String Quartet – ''Barber: String Quartet, Opus 11'' (1948, Stradivari STR 602, LP) * Tokyo String Quartet – ''A Way a Lone'' (1993, RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-61387-2, CD)

Sources

External links

Sierra Chamber Society Program Notes
, ''FugueMasters.com''. {{Authority control 1936 compositions Chamber music by Samuel Barber

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

Compositions in B minor