5 - Samuel Barber Interviewed by Allan Kozinn (1979)

Summary

Barber's interview with Allan Kozinn (1954–) took place at the end of December 1979. Because of reports of his illness, there was some question of whether he would go through with the interview, since a few weeks earlier he had canceled most of his appointments. However, pianist-composer Philip Ramey convinced Barber not to break this appointment, and the result was the last interview he ever gave. Originally, his meeting with Kozinn was to have taken place at Barber's Fifth Avenue apartment in New York, but, because of construction there to try and shield his working area from distracting traffic noise, they met at the offices of G. Schirmer. It was a cold, gray, windy day, but Barber appeared to be in good health and good spirits, although his final illness would soon take its toll.

Allan Kozinn is one of the leading music critics on the New York scene. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in music and journalism in 1976 and started to write for The New York Times the following year. He has also been a contributing editor for High Fidelity, Opus, and Keynote and was the first music critic for the New York Observer. His articles and reviews have also appeared in Opera News, Stereo Review, The Listener (BBC), The Los Angeles Times, Musical America, Guitar Review, Fugue and Keyboard, and in other publications in the United States, Europe, and Japan. He joined the faculty at New York University in 2004 and has also taught at the Juilliard School. His books include The New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music (2004), The Beatles (1995), Mischa Elman and the Romantic Style (1990), and The Guitar: The History, the Players, the Music (1984).

Interview

By Permission of Allan Kozinn

AK In 1935 you told an interviewer that there were fine opportunities for young composers and that American music could be expected to make great progress. How does it look forty-five years later?

SB I’m not very good at summing these things up or comparing one period to another because I don't think historically. But I do think it's much harder for a young composer now than it was when I was starting out. First of all, there were conductors back then who were interested in American music—Koussevitzky, for example.