Second Essay for Orchestra (Barber)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Barber
's Second Essay for Orchestra (op
. 17), completed 15 March 1942 is an orchestral work in one movement. It was premiered by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra
at Carnegie Hall
16 April 1942. It lasts around 11 minutes and is dedicated to Robert Horan
.
The work was commissioned by Bruno Walter
who also conducted the premiere. Some of the thematic ideas were probably conceived years before the Essay's completion. In a letter of 30. November 1942 the composer wrote about it:
It is a very condensed and concise work developing three themes. Much happens in its relative short duration.
Second Essay for Orchestra is one of Barber's most popular works, probably only trailing Adagio for Strings
and his Violin Concerto
in terms of number of performances.
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Second Essay for Orchestra (op
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
. 17), completed 15 March 1942 is an orchestral work in one movement. It was premiered by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
16 April 1942. It lasts around 11 minutes and is dedicated to Robert Horan
Robert Horan
-Life:He lived with Pauline Kael in Berkeley, California.He was part of the "Activist" group.He was friends with Gian Carlo Menotti, and Samuel Barber, staying with them at "The Capricorn", at Mount Kisco, New York....
.
The work was commissioned by Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
who also conducted the premiere. Some of the thematic ideas were probably conceived years before the Essay's completion. In a letter of 30. November 1942 the composer wrote about it:
"Although it has no program, one perhaps hears that it was written in war-time."
It is a very condensed and concise work developing three themes. Much happens in its relative short duration.
Second Essay for Orchestra is one of Barber's most popular works, probably only trailing Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
and his Violin Concerto
Violin concerto (Barber)
Samuel Barber completed his Violin Concerto, Op. 14, in 1939. It is a work in three movements, lasting about 22 minutes.-History:In 1939 Philadelphia industrialist Samuel Simeon Fels commissioned Barber to write a violin concerto for Fels' ward, Iso Briselli, a graduate from the Curtis Institute...
in terms of number of performances.