NDR Chamber Concert

More than just a one-hit wonder

Samuel Barber is one of those composers whose name is primarily associated with a single work: the »Adagio for Strings«. Very few people are aware that this melancholic lament is actually a rearrangement of the middle movement from his String Quartet, Op. 11, which was written in Rome in 1936. During a scholarship period in Europe, he applied himself to this tradition-rich genre, resulting in this original contribution. The three movements are an impressive demonstration of why Barber was regarded as one of America’s most talented composers.