Composed in 1931, the Overture to The School for Scandal, Op. 5 was Samuel Barber’s first orchestral work.
Barber was completing studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, and the piece served as a graduation thesis. Two years later on August 30, 1933, it was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Smallens. The eight-minute-long concert overture appeared on programs across the country, helping to establish Barber as one of the leading American composers of the 20th century.
Listening to this bold, spirited music, we can hear the 21-year-old Barber flexing his compositional muscles. The instrumental lines erupt with youthful confidence and playful delight. With echoes of Brahms, the music celebrates and builds upon existing tradition rather than pushing boundaries. It unfolds in time-tested Sonata form.
The School for Scandal Overture was dramatically inspired by Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1777 satirical comedy of the same title. With characters including Lady Sneerwell, Lady Scandal, and Sir Oliver Surface, the play highlights the gossiping, backbiting trivialities of London aristocracy. Filled with shenanigans, its multiple farcical plot lines slowly converge.
Barber did not conceive the music as a literal curtain raiser, but rather “as a musical reflection of the play’s spirit.” Sheridan’s buffoonish characters provided the spark for a new set of zany instrumental “characters.” Leonard Bernstein must have had this music in mind when he wrote his Candide Overture.
The mayhem is unleashed with a helter-skelter fanfare flourish in which E-flat minor collides with D major. The first theme is a witty and frenetic conversation of imitative counterpoint. The second theme, first introduced by the oboe, is filled with autumnal nostalgia. In the coda, the first theme erupts into a sparking fugue. In the opening bars, a sneaky falling half step (E-flat, D) sets the adventure in motion. The Overture ends with the same motif, now a brash concluding statement by the entire orchestra.
This recording features Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra:
Recordings
- Barber: Overture to “The School for Scandal”, Op. 5, Yoel Levi, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Amazon
Featured Image: “New York, circa 1950,” Charles Cundall