Previous posts for March 9 are found here: Martin Shaw (2019), Samuel Barber (2020), Ornette Coleman; Samuel Barber (2021), Samuel Barber; Josef Mysliveček (2023), and Samuel Barber (2024)
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Samuel Barber (9 March 1910 – 23 January 1981) was an important American composer in all the major classical genres.
When Likes Attract
That an element of creative tension existed between them was, however, inevitable. When Barber began work on the score of Vanessa in 1954, he was already regarded as one of the US's foremost composers of orchestral and vocal music. Menotti, meanwhile, an instinctive man of the theatre, had risen to become the rebellious voice of contemporary American opera. -- Tim Ashley, at theguardian.com
When Menotti and Barber were dating
Did they fear the thin ice they were skating?
Did professional laurels
Beget jealous quarrels
Concerning what each was creating?
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End Times
Barber’s final years were not happy ones. He fell short of money, as his music had been shoved aside. He became depressed by his fall from high esteem, and he broke up with his life partner, the composer Gian Carlo Menotti. – Heuwell Tircuit, at sfcv.org
I'm sad ti say, when Barber died
He felt he had been cast aside.
He had success when still a youth,
But had to face the the solemn truth
That even talent, skill, and passion
Can’t overcome the whims of fashion
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