Adagio for Strings eye." In 1938, Olin Downes noted that with the piece, Barber "achieved something as perfect in mass and detail as his craftsmanship permits." In an edition of "A Conductor's Analysis of Selected Works", John William Mueller devoted over 20 pages to "Adagio for Strings". Wayne Clifford Wentzel, author of "Samuel Barber: A Research and Information Guide (Composer Resource Manuals)", said that it was a piece usually selected for a closing act because it was moderately famous. Roy Brewer, writer for AllMusic, stated that it was one of the most recognizable pieces of American concert music. G. Schirmer has published several
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is a tone poem composed in 1912 by Frederick Delius; it was first performed in Leipzig on 23 October 1913. It is the first of "Two Pieces for Small Orchestra", the second piece being "Summer Night on the River", although these have for many years existed separately on recordings and in the concert hall. The piece opens with a slow three-bar sequence; its first theme is an exchange of cuckoo calls, first for oboe, then for divided strings. The second theme is scored for first violins,