Concert is published on 26 November 2020 12:00

Adagio for Strings

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This modest second movement in Samuel Barber’s string quartet became a world hit.

The composer made an arrangement for string orchestra in 1938 which was taken up by the legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini and then the thing was done – everyone was gripped by the melancholic tone. The Adagio was played at John F Kennedy’s funeral in 1963, which says something about its gripping power.

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