Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 09/05/2006, uploaded on 01/12/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonata in e-flat minor, Op. 26             Samuel Barber

Allegro energico; Allegro vivace e leggiero; Adagio mesto; Fuga: Allegro con spirito

Samuel Barber's sonata, from 1949, has become one of the most important sonatas of the twentieth century and the signature piano work of this American composer. Darker in mood and far thicker and more complex in texture than his earlier Excursions, this 4-movement neo-classical work challenges the pianist at every turn and culminates in a brilliant and technically thorny 4-voice fugue.  

Although the piece is written in the key of e-flat minor, Barber employs some twelve-tone rows in both the first and third movements.  Barber did not use these rows as structural devices in the same way as composers of the Second Viennese School did, but rather he incorporated them into the texture of the accompaniment to disguise the tonality.  In the first movement, Barber juxtaposes sections of more traditional harmony with the stridently dissonant to create a volatile world of passion and aggression.

The second movement is in a traditional Rondo form.  In this 2-½ minute movement, Barber uses very little of the bass registers.  The extensive use of the upper register provides a necessary break from the thundering of the opening movement. 

Barber originally envisioned his Sonata having only three movements.  He intended it to end with the depressing Adagio movement.  It was the suggestion of Vladimir Horowitz, who premiered the work, to add a 4-voice fugue to finish the Sonata.  With its jumping octaves, devilish passage work, and complicated counterpoint, this jazzy final movement is a brilliant ending to one of the great piano masterpieces of the 20th century.    Stephen Beus

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.