Souvenirs (1951) is one of Samuel Barber's very few pieces that would be considered light in style, or referred to as salon music. The piano suite was first composed at the suggestion of a friend of Barber's, Charles Turner. The two, while relaxing in New York City would often visit the bar in the Blue Angel Club. Here, they would listen to and enjoy a popular piano duet team, known as Edie and Rack. This two-piano duo was known for arranging popular melodies of the day, including Broadway tunes into a more cultured musical vein. Turner recommended that Barber compose a piece in a similar, lighthearted style, although with original melodies. The work was originally composed for four-hand piano. Barber dedicated Souvenirs to his friend, Turner, and the two played the composition at parties they attended in New York and across Europe, coinciding with the true intent of salon music.

Barber, in the preface of the original published copy of the four-hand piano version of Souvenirs, recalls a specific memory. As a boy, he and his mother would visit the Palm Court of the Hotel Plaza in New York, approximately between 1915 and 1920. The piano music that Barber heard here also greatly contributed to Barber's compositional ideas for the Souvenirs suite. Thus, the name of the piece refers to memories of music past, "remembered with affection, not in irony or with tongue in cheek, but in amused tenderness."

This work, although not composed with the intent of publishment or further arrangements, became popular in several versions. In 1952, the composer himself arranged the piece for solo piano. Also in 1952, Arthur Gold and Robert Fizedale, two well-known piano players, recorded Souvenirs in the setting of piano duet. This recording brought the composition into the public eye, where it was warmly received as inventive salon music. Barber also arranged the work for orchestra, in order to accompany dancing, for a ballet, at the suggestion of Lincoln Kerstein. This orchestral suite is also highly regarded, and was praised after its premiere by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Fritz Reiner. The ballet, after assorted difficulties, was first performed in 1955, with dance choreography by Todd Bolender. The ballet is considered humorously satirical.

The Souvenirs suite consists of six short movements, Waltz, Schottische, Pas de deux, Two-Step, Hesitation-Tango, and Galop. It is easy to see how this piece easily translated into a ballet suite. The first movement is a waltz, in triple meter, cast in the major mode. An interesting feature occurs near the end of this movement. The time signature changes to five beats per measure. This is special because, by definition, a waltz is limited to triple meter. The second movement is fast and goes through several meter changes, while the third movement is slow and reminiscent. The final three movements are all quick in tempo, especially the final movement, Galop.

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