Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

A documentary about the composer of the Adagio for Strings

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty — Plot

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

• Release date
• March 23, 2017
• Runtime
• 130 min
• Genres
• Music, History, Documentary
• Director
• H. Paul Moon

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty — Cast

Thomas Hampson Self

L

Leonard Slatkin Self Marin Alsop Self

J

John Corigliano Self

J

Jenny Oaks Baker Self