Symphony No. 2

work by Barber

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

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Samuel Barber's Symphony No. 2 (1944; revised 1947) was commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Forces. In its original version, Barber incorporated an electronic instrument to imitate radio signals used for air navigation. This effect was later replaced by an E-flat clarinet in the revised version. The symphony is considered to be in the Romantic tradition, a style characteristic of Barber's work, which is known for its lyricism and expressiveness within 20th-century classical music.1

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Samuel Barber
In the Symphony No. 2 (1944; rev. 1947), commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Forces (which he had joined in 1943), Barber introduced an electronic instrument imitating radio signals for air navigation, an effect replaced in the revised version by an E-flat clarinet.
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In the Symphony No. 2 (1944; rev. 1947), commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Forces (which he had joined in 1943), Barber introduced an electronic instrument imitating radio signals for air navigation, an effect replaced in the revised version by an E-flat clarinet.
Read More