Lyric for Strings
George Walker (1922-2018)

THE STORY

Composer, pianist, and educator George Walker was a trailblazer in the mid-20th century American classical music scene. Acclaimed for his piano recitals in both the U.S. and in Europe in addition to his compositions, Walker earned the admiration of some of the leading musical figures and institutions of his day, epitomized in his receipt of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996—never before awarded to an African American composer. He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt in 1997.

Walker’s Lyric for Strings reveals an emotional depth beyond his 24 years when it was composed and was aptly described by the Washington Star as a “bittersweet, transparent, beautifully textured piece.” Like Samuel Barber’s famous Adagio for Strings (1936), with which it shares a similar tone, Walker’s Lyric for Strings originated as the slow movement to his String Quartet No. 1 (1946), only later being revised as a stand-alone piece for string orchestra (1990).

LISTEN FOR

• The sorrowful descending motives that saturate the texture—first introduced in the opening measures of the piece and elaborated throughout in delicate counterpoint

• The impassioned climax consisting of chordal jabs in the low strings and straining violins, together contributing to the “bittersweet” tone of the work

INSTRUMENTATION

Strings