Scaramouche Op.165 is a suite of music composed by Darius Milhaud. The suite is based on incidental music Milhaud composed for two theatrical productions: Le médecin volant and Bolivar. Scaramouche draws inspiration from various sources, with each of the suite's three movements being of a distinct character. Milhaud's characteristic use of polytonality can be heard throughout the piece. Scaramouche was composed as a piano duo in 1937 at the request of Marguerite Long and was premiered at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne the same year. The suite was later arranged for various ensembles due to the piece's popularity, including arrangements for solo saxophone or clarinet with orchestra. History Inspiration The music in Scaramouche is taken from incidental music that Milhaud composed for two plays. The first and third movements are inspired by themes composed for Henri Pascar's production of Molière's Le médecin volant (The Flying Doctor); it is from here that Scaramouche gets its name, as Pascar's group of players was named the Théatre Scaramouche. Movement two takes its theme from the overture of Jules Supervielle's Bolivar. Milhaud drawn from very different sources in each movement of Scaramouche. The first movement, Vif, has been likened to a cross between folk-song melodies and nursery rhymes. Movement two hints at the French overture style, used by Johann Sebastian Bach and other Baroque composers. The third movement, Brazileira, is a samba inspired by Milhaud's prior time in Brazil: he had spent two years in Rio de Janeiro serving as secretary to the French ambassador Paul Claudel during the First Wold War. Composition and first performance Scaramouche was composed by Milhaud in 1937 as a suite of music for two pianos. It was written for Marguerite Long, a French pianist who wished for two of her students (Marcelle Meyer and Ida Jankelevitch) to play the work at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne. Although it largely used music that Milhaud had composed previously, composing the suite did not come easy: Milhaud said "it gave me enormous trouble". Scaramouche was published by Milhaud's friend, the printer Raymond Deiss after he requested to do so. Milhaud attempted to deter Deiss from publishing the suite, assuming that the music would not sell and prove a wasted investment — at the time printed sheet music was proving unpopular. Deiss refused to be dissuaded by Milhaud and