1. Born on March 9 1910 in a rather wealthy and influential family, the future composer seemed to be a child prodigy, fascinated by music beyond all else. No wonder that his main early influence would be his aunt and uncle, Louise and Sidney Homer, at that time respected figures in the New York music scene. Were they the ones who made him write his first musical tries? Very likely, but Barber proved to be a native talent the likes of which are rarely seen. Other kids his age wanted to play football or ride their bikes, while little Samuel was happy just listening to records and thinking about his future music. 2. Samuel Osborne Barber actually wrote his very first composition when he was just seven years of age. So by 1924, the year he enrolled at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadephia, he had already written 14 pieces of music. And three of them, three piano sketches, are actually still performed today, so one cannot say that they were simply experiments or childlike attempts. When he was ten he began writing his very first opera, but never completed it.
3. He was a natural and talented baritone, and during his training years he studied piano and organ, often playing at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of his native town. But Barber had proven to be interested mainly in composition, being a student of Rosario Scalero, one of the first teachers who was impressed by his native talent and dedication.
4. Samuel Barber was especially prolific in his 20s, and it wouldn't be long until music lovers could simply not ignore this young and hungry composer, who seemed to take the world of contemporary composition by storm. It was during these years that he composed, among others, his String Quartet which included his nowadays most popular work, the Adagio for Strings, used in several movies and TV shows.
5. For many of his admirers his close relationship with Gian Carlo Menotti, a former fellow student and surely the most special friend in Barber's life, was somewhat of scandalous. Yet deyond that Menotti, himself a musician, would prove to be a supporter, to a degree a source of inspiration and at the same time the harshest and most honest critic that Barber could have hoped for.
6. His works won not one, but two Pulitzer Prizes. The first was awarded in 1958, when at the Metropolitan Opera music lovers could attend Vanessa, the new Barber opera, the libretto bearing the signature of the same faithful Menotti. A second award was given to the composer in 1962 for his Piano Concerto No. 1.
7. Despite his early success, in his final years, after his new grand opera Anthony and Cleopatra failed, Barber struggled with a huge depression, started drinking and couldn't write even a little piece of music for several years.
Photo: musicsalesclassical.com
