• The School for Scandal Overture5 was written in 1931, inspired by the 1777 play by the same name. The play follows several plot lines that slowly converge together, incorporating stories of an uncle deciding whom to give his fortune to, two nephews competing for a woman’s love, and two women competing for one of the nephew’s attention.
• This piece was one of Barber’s early works which helped him establish a national reputation, later becoming part of the regular repertoire of American orchestras by the 1950s.
• Barber missed the premiere of the work in 1933 due to travel in Italy with his schoolmate and romantic partner Giancarlo Menotti. The first time he heard the piece was in 1936 with the New York Philharmonic.
• The piece reflects the drama and high stakes of this play, yet through the same playful and comedic lens. It opens with a frenetic flourish of energy to introduce the excitement of the play. Following this introduction are various themes to characterize personas of the play and the romance between them, often oscillating between the different ideas and themes. The overture concludes in a celebratory way, fitting the comedic-opera style of the work.

• DANCE was written in 2019 for Israeli cellist Inbal Segev and dedicated to Clyne’s father, Leslie Clyne. The piece is based on a poem by the Persian poet, Rumi. Each movement of the work is based on each line of the poem.
  • Dance, when you’re broken open.
    Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
    Dance in the middle of the fighting.
    Dance in your blood.
    Dance, when you’re perfectly free.
    ~ Rumi

• The piece pulls from a variety of styles including Eastern and Irish folk tunes, minimalism, modal melodies, and Baroque styles. Clyne even confesses that she snuck in a quotation of a Bach Sarabande in her new work as she is a cellist herself.
• Clyne’s work has been highly praised by music critics, many describing the work as “hugely impressive,” “unfailingly lyrical,” and “soulfully rich, gently melancholic, deeply reflective.”
• Each movement of the work has its own character and personality, yet all share the same personal and lyrical quality. What makes this piece so moving is how Clyne focuses on the use of reverberation not volume, harnessing the natural reverb of the instruments of the orchestra, which allows for a natural and humanistic sound to the entire work.

Discussion Question

“Where words fail, music speaks” – Hans Christian Anderson.  Select one of the movements and explain how the music that Anne Clyne wrote describes the line of poetry beyond the words. 

• Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5 was composed in 1888 and premiered the same year with the composer himself conducting. It is dedicated to Theodor Avé-Lallemant, a German musician and teacher who greatly influenced Tchaikovsky.
• Unlike the previous two symphonies, Symphony No.5 is not programmatic*. In his early sketches (a composer’s early drafts of fragments of a musical piece), Tchaikovsky thought to write the first movement about the complete resignation before fate — yet, it is uncertain how much of this program is realized in the composition.
• The piece uses a cyclical structure: Tchaikovsky includes a recurring theme that happens in all movements of the work in different ways to highlight different emotions or ideas. This recurring theme is now known as the “fate” motif*.
• Tchaikovsky uses a blend of both Russian folk music and Western European harmony and structure in his symphonies, including the fifth. Thus, this symphony is not blatantly nationalistic but includes various Russian tunes that create the larger themes of the work.
• The work opens with the low strings and woodwinds introducing the fate motif, which is followed by a slavic-style folk tune theme. The second movement is luscious and romantic, evoking rich sentimentality and heart-wrenching themes. The third movement is a graceful waltz that highlights lots of instrumental color. The symphony closes with a quick introduction of the fate motif but in a militaristic style; following this is a dramatic struggle into a final triumphant march of the fate motif.

Discussion Question

What form of writing would be comparable to a four movement symphony (like Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5)?  A newspaper article, research paper, poem, historical fiction, graphic novel, fiction novel, biography?  Explain your choice.