Seattle Times

‘The Saddest Music Ever Written’: Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings,’ deconstructed

This new book about Samuel Barber’s famous, eloquently mournful “Adagio for Strings” is 262 pages long. About one-fourth of those pages are eminently worthy of the music lovers’ careful attention. In ...
NPR

From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings'

This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem. Samuel Barber's Adagio ...
The New York Times

An Adagio for Strings, and for the Ages

Performances in N.Y.C. Advertisement Supported by By Johanna Keller SAMUEL BARBER’S Adagio for Strings begins softly, with a single note, a B flat, played by the violins. Two beats later the lower ...
NPR

The Impact of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings'

In the second of a five-part series produced by independent producer Ben Manilla and Media Mechanics, Weekend All Things Considered looks at recordings recently selected for the Library of Congress' ...
BBC

From Sadness to Joy: Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’

In 2004, a competition by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme set out to find “the saddest music in the world” and was won by Barber’s Adagio for Strings – receiving 52% of the public votes, ahead of ...
Classic FM

Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings

For many, it was its use in the film Platoon. For others, it was William Orbit’s Pieces in a Modern Style project. But very few of us can claim to have first experienced Barber’s Adagio for Strings in ...