Circus Overture (Sideshow) (concert band) (1944)

Circus Overture was composed for and first performed in Billy Rose's Revue “The Seven Lively Arts” under Maurice Abravanel in the spring of 1944. It was first performed in concert under the title Side Show by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner on December 17, 1944.

The work opens with the cry of the circus barker, “Ladies and Gentlemen!” played by the full ensemble — a theme which occurs, with extended modifications, throughout the piece. The barker comments on snatches of circus acts presented in his attempt to attract the crowd. There are oriental dancers, snake charmers, an animal tamer, acrobats elegantly performing to the strains of a waltz, and a display of fashion models. In the closing section all these acts are at once more quickly reviewed and juxtaposed as the barker gives his all in a final pep-talk.