Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber is one of the best-known and most beloved concert works of all time. Derived from the middle movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11, it was premiered in 1938 by Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. As the US struggled to emerge from the Great Depression and the prospect of war in Europe loomed, Adagio for Strings provided its audiences with a space to access their emotions, through radio broadcasts and performances across the Americas.
