Compulsively readable interviews with the great American composer and his friends and colleagues, including Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, and Leontyne Price.

Foreword by John CoriglianoAbout the 1981 BBC Interviews by Arthur JohnsonAcknowledgementsThe Formative YearsReception in EnglandSamuel Barber Interviewed by James Fassett (1949)Samuel Barber Interviewed by Robert Sherman (1978)Samuel Barber Interviewed by Allan Kozinn (1979)Gian Carlo Menotti: Interview with Peter Dickinson, Yester House, Gifford, Scotland, April 6, 1981Charles Turner: Interview with Peter Dickinson, New York City, May 13, 1981Aaron Copland: Interview with Peter Dickinson, Rock Hill, Peekskill, NY, May 11, 1981William Schuman: Interview with Peter Dickinson, 888 Park Avenue, New York City, May 14, 1981Virgil Thomson: Interview with Peter Dickinson, Chelsea Hotel, New York City, May 12, 1981Leontyne Price: Interview with Peter Dickinson, New York City, May 14, 1981John Browning: Interview with Peter Dickinson, New York City, May 13, 1981Robert White: Interview with Arthur Johnson, London, February 1981H. Wiley Hitchcock: Interview with Peter Dickinson, 1192 Park Avenue, New York City, May 10, 1981Hans W. Heinsheimer: Interview with Peter Dickinson, New York City, May 13, 1981Edward P. Murphy: Interview with Peter Dickinson, New York City, May 12, 1981Postscript 2005: Orlando Cole: Interview with Peter Dickinson, Philadelphia, October 13, 2005Selected BibliographyGeneral IndexIndex of Works by Samuel Barber