Barber, Sondheim, and Tunick

Join members of OSL for an evening of music by three defining American composers.

A legendary orchestrator and one of the rare EGOT winners, Jonathan Tunick returns to OSL following his 2024 appearance conducting his arrangement of A Little Night Music. This program features the premiere of his newly commissioned clarinet quintet, as well as select songs by Stephen Sondheim, a tribute to Tunick’s long-standing collaboration with the iconic musical theater composer.

Samuel Barber’s deep connection to vocal music was shaped early by his aunt, Metropolitan Opera contralto Louise Homer, and his uncle, art song composer Sidney Homer, who mentored him for over 25 years. Dover Beach, his setting of Matthew Arnold’s melancholy seascape for baritone and string quartet, was first recorded by Barber, an accomplished singer himself. Tonight, it’s performed by internationally acclaimed baritone John Brancy.

Barber’s Serenade for Strings, written at 18 as a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, already reveals his signature lyrical intensity. His Adagio, adapted from his String Quartet in B minor, has remained one of the most enduring works in the American canon ever since its 1938 premiere under Toscanini.

Part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival