Essay nr 1

Essay No. 1 for Orchestra was Samuel Barber’s first major triumph. He was 28 when the legendary and feared conductor Arturo Toscanini performed the work in a radio concert broadcast from New York on 5 November 1938, together with the work that is now Barber’s most famous, Adagio for Strings. As in a written essay, in his orchestral essays Barber begins with a basic idea that he then extrapolates. The idea behind Essay No. 1 is a mysterious and understated theme, initially presented by the string section. This is followed by a more dramatic section largely dominated by woodwind, strings and piano, culminating in a powerful return to the original theme before the music ebbs away. Barber composed a second essay in 1942, followed by a third in 1978.