Musical Selection for today

Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto

The violin concerto (1939) is a transitional work: the first two movements sing sweetly and intently; the last movement burns the barn down with complex meters and new dissonances.

American composer Samuel Barber, most famous for "The Adagio for Strings", often confuses critics. He founded no school; he stuck to no one style. As a public figure, he seemed aloof from the various critical fights of American music: tonal vs. atonal, Stravinsky vs. Schoenberg, and old-guard vs. modern.

Barber distinguished himself as a melodist. Almost everything he wrote has at least one gorgeous tune or memorable theme.