Barber's Symphony in One Movement

An American, born and raised, Samuel Barber began attending the Curtis Institute when he was 14 studying composition, voice and piano. He won the pulitzer prize for his opera, Vanessa, was composing into his 70th year until he died of cancer, and had a great influence on American music.

This season, the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra is performing Barber's Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, Op. 9. I attended the first rehearsal tonight in the hopes of joining the symphony this season. The other pieces on the program for this autumn concert are also great: Nielsen's Helios Overture, Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin. However, none of the other pieces spoke to me like Barber's did. Here is a brief description of the work from the composer, himself:

"The form of my Symphony in One Movement is a synthetic treatment of the four-movement classical symphony. It is based on three themes of the initial Allegro non troppo, which retain throughout the work their fundamental character. The Allegro opens with the usual exposition of a main theme, a more lyrical second theme, and a closing theme. After a brief development of the three themes, instead of the customary recapitulation, the first theme, in diminution forms the basis of a scherzo section (Vivace). The second theme (oboe over muted strings) then appears in augmentation, in an extended Andante tranquillo. An intense crescendo introduces the finale, which is a short passacaglia based on the first theme (introduced by the violoncelli and contra-bassi), over which, together with figures from other themes, the closing theme is woven, thus serving as a recapitulation for the entire symphony."

So I didn't quite catch all of that as I was listening during rehearsal tonight, but I was swept up in the developing complexity of the themes and how well Barber used silence in the piece. His grand pauses and sudden dynamic shifts stop you in the your tracks - in a good way. It's like running up a main street to meet an old friend you haven't seen in years and then having to stop at each street corner when the crosswalk sign shows the big red hand instead of the friendly walking figure. You want to jaywalk or risk getting hit by a car to get through the waiting, but you can't because you know that you're supposed to wait. Your anticipation increases, your heart may beat faster, you become more excited and anxious. This is what I feel during the grand pauses and sudden dynamic shifts in Barber's Symphony in One Movement. I really enjoy neo-classical American music and especially Barber's (his Adagio for Strings will always have a special place in my heart). I am so glad to have my interest in Barber's works revived and now I get to enjoy the rest of his music!

Here is a link to listen to the piece, check it out!
http://www.rhapsody.com/samuel-barber/concerto-and-symphony-no-1