Adagio for Strings

A 1936 string-orchestra arrangement by Samuel Barber of the slow movement from his String Quartet, Op. 11. Its sustained lines and gradual climax made it one of his best-known works.

String Quartet, Op. 11: Samuel Barber’s 1936 chamber work whose second movement he arranged for string orchestra as Adagio for Strings. The arrangement preserves this quartet movement while changing its performing forces.
Samuel Barber: An American composer known for lyrical works including Adagio for Strings and the opera Vanessa. Barber composed the quartet movement and made its orchestral arrangement.
Film music: Music composed or selected to accompany films and shape their dramatic effect. The work’s cinematic emotional arc has made it a frequent choice for screen use.
String Quartet No. 2 (Barber): Samuel Barber’s unfinished second string quartet, composed in 1948 and later completed by others. It shows Barber returning to quartet writing without producing another work with this movement’s public reach.
Ternary form: A musical form organized as an opening section, a contrasting middle section, and a return of the opening material. The movement’s broad return helps shape its slow, arching trajectory.
String Quartet No. 1 (Barber): Samuel Barber’s String Quartet, Op. 11, composed in 1936. Adagio for Strings originated as this quartet’s second movement.
Platoon: A 1986 American film written and directed by Oliver Stone about soldiers in the Vietnam War. The film’s use of the piece helped associate it with wartime loss.
Adagio for Strings (choral arrangement): Samuel Barber’s choral adaptation of Adagio for Strings, published as Agnus Dei in 1967. This later version transforms the orchestral melody into a vocal work with Latin text.
Polyphony: Music in which two or more independent melodic lines sound simultaneously. The voices enter successively, building a layered texture rather than moving as one block.
Arturo Toscanini: An Italian conductor renowned for his work with major European and American orchestras. Toscanini premiered Barber’s orchestral arrangement with the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Linked from 2 pages

Musical textureBroader topic: Its sustained lines show how gradual entrances and registral spacing alter density.