THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

32."ADAGIO FOR STRINGS"-SAMUAL BARBER
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC-BERNSTIEN

AN AMERICAN CLASSICAL COMPOSER,ONE OF THE VERY FEW
TO HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE 20TH CENTURY.
"THE ADAGIO" IS PART OF A LARGER WORK COMPOSED BY
BARBER BUT EVEN FROM IT'S FIRST PERFORMANCE IT WAS
SINGLED OUT AND PERFORMED AS A SINGLE PIECE OF MUSIC
BY MANY CONDUCTORS AND MANY ORCHESTRA'S-SOME
HAVE CALLED IT THE SINGLE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF
MUSIC EVER WRITTEN.BY THE TIME OF BARBER'S PASSING
HOWEVER HE HAD BEEN LARGLY FORGOTTEN ALONG WITH
HIS "ADAGIO".
LITTLE COULD ANYONE HAVE GUESSED THAT BARBER'S
"ADAGIO FOR STRINGS",BY IT'S USE IN FILM,WOULD BECOME THE
MOST WELL KNOWN PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC OF THE LATER
20TH CENTURY.
FIRST IT WAS USED AS THE ENDING SONG OF DIRECTOR DAVID
LYNCH'S PROFOUND CREATION OF THE MOVIE "THE ELEPHANT MAN"
SELDOM HAS MUSIC BEEN USED THIS EFFECTIVILY IN FILM.IT'S AN
UNFORGETABLE SEQUENCE.
"ADAGIO" GOT EVEN MORE EXPOSURE FROM IT'S USE IN OLIVER
STONE'S CLASSIC WAR FILM "PLATOON".EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON'T
KNOW WHO SAMUAL BARBER IS KNOW HIS MUSIC FROM THIS FILM.
SUCH IS THE POWER OF MUSIC AND FILM.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED