Samuel Barber is perhaps best known for his "Adagio for Strings", and he demonstrated many talents in writing for string ensembles, choral groups, and piano. Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1910 and he studied at the Curtis Institute. During his long career, he was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes and he had a long-standing relationship with the Library of Congress. Barber's String Quartet was first performed at the Library in 1938 and he premiered his song cycle, Hermit Songs, at the Library in 1953. This digital collection from the Library of Congress contains performance manuscripts of Barber's works, along with select correspondence and video of noted vocalist Thomas Hampson performing songs by Barber on the Library of Congress Song of America Tour.
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