Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

This is a well-researched documentary about the life of the American composer Samuel Barber, who died in 1981. It has interviews with people who knew him in various ways, as well as older footage of interviews with Barber himself and many others, including his life-long partner Gian Carlo Menotti. Excerpts of his music range through most of his career. It shows where he grew up (West Chester PA), where he lived most of his working life (Mt. Kisco, NY), and where he studied, starting at age 14 (Curtis Institute, Philadelphia).

It is simply a must-see for any fan of Barber's music. And if you are not yet a fan yet, it is a good introduction. Barber lived in the 20th century and developed his own harmonic style, but he was a romantic at heart, closer in spirit to Brahms than to most others composing "classical" music at the same time.

It aired on some PBS stations on July 15.