Orchestral · Op. 17 · 1942
Essay No. 2 for Orchestra, Op. 17
Samuel Barber
Barber's Second Essay for Orchestra is a compact, single-movement work that builds a handful of ideas into a brassy, propulsive climax, popular for concerts needing a concise, dramatic American opener.
What to listen for
The piece unfolds in one continuous span, without movement breaks, so listen for how it grows rather than for separate sections.
It opens quietly, with a flute melody that sounds almost like a folk tune floating over sparse accompaniment. This opening idea is simple enough to hum, and Barber will return to fragments of it throughout the piece.
From there the music thickens gradually. A second idea appears, treated almost like a fugue, where one instrument states a short phrase and other instruments answer it in overlapping entries, like voices catching up with each other in conversation. This contrapuntal passage builds tension and density as more instruments join in.
The middle of the work shifts in color and weight, with brass and percussion taking a larger role and the harmony growing more dissonant, creating a sense of gathering storm.
The climax arrives with the full orchestra playing loudly and rhythmically, the brass often carrying the melodic material in bold, declarative statements. This is the moment listeners often remember: a sudden surge of power after the earlier, more delicate material.
After the climax, the music recedes, and fragments of the opening flute melody return, now transformed by everything that has happened in between, bringing the piece to a settled close.
The story
Samuel Barber wrote his Essay No. 2 for Orchestra in 1942, during the early years of American involvement in World War II. It followed his First Essay for Orchestra of 1938, and Barber used the title "essay" to suggest a concise, focused orchestral statement rather than a symphony's larger architecture. The work was commissioned for the New York Philharmonic and premiered under Bruno Walter's direction. It reflects the urgency and gravity of its wartime moment without being explicitly programmatic. The piece has remained a fixture of American orchestral repertoire, valued by conductors for its brevity, clear structure, and strong emotional arc, making it a useful concert opener or companion piece to larger works.
First time hearing it?
- The piece runs about 10 minutes and plays straight through with no pauses.
- There is no soloist in this work itself, though it is often paired on programs with concerto repertoire.
- Listen for a quiet flute tune at the start that returns, transformed, at the very end.
- The middle of the piece builds steadily to a loud, brass-heavy climax, the moment most listeners remember.
- The orchestra is standard symphonic size, with no unusual instruments or staging.
Written by OrchestraFinder, reviewed September 2026.