This movement is fast-moving and energetic. After months with no progress, Horowitz telephoned Barber and, hoping to inspire him, called him a "constipated composer." Barber became angry and wrote the entire fourth movement the next day.īarber chose to set all movements in conventional forms the first is cast in sonata form. The sonata was premiered by Vladimir Horowitz.īarber originally had a three-movement sonata in mind, but Horowitz convinced him that the piece needed a "very flashy last movement." This last movement caused Barber much frustration. The piece was commissioned in the fall of 1947 by Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the League of Composers. Fuga: Allegro con spirito Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata (1947-1949) was hailed as a masterpiece of American musical literature and the newest landmark work for the piano. Lastly, a jarring and intense fugue brings the sonata to a tumultuous close. The third movement, an Adagio, returns to the chromaticism of the first, dissipating the brighter mood brought about by the scherzo. Next follows a sprightly scherzo in rondo form. The first movement, energetic and lively, is in sonata form, and, curiously, even incorporates some use of twelve-tone techniques. Through this use of counterpoint, the sonata reaches a level of dissonance not found in his earlier works. While Barber maintained traditional forms for each of the sonata’s four movements, he also drew on a more heavily contrapuntal style during the work’s composition, fusing it with his already well-defined lyricism. The sonata was enthusiastically received following Horowitz’s premiere, and remains today a favorite piece in the repertoire. Finally, after being called a “constipated composer” by Horowitz, Barber in a fury dashed off the entire movement in one day. For months, Barber was unable to make any headway on the movement. Barber acquiesced, yet the movement caused him great consternation. Though he had only planned a three-movement work, Horowitz convinced Barber that the sonata needed a flashy finale. Eight months later, Barber picked up work again on the sonata, producing two more movements. However, his attention was torn between the many projects different projects he was engaged in at the time, and the sonata was soon placed on a backburner. Barber responded enthusiastically to the commission, quickly producing the first movement. The work was commissioned by Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the League of Composers, a society aimed at promoting new American classical music, and was to be premiered by Vladimir Horowitz.
Samuel Barber’s only sonata for the piano, the Piano Sonata in E-flat minor was composed during 1947-49.
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