{ program notes
later in 1924, memories of what he had heard that night inspired Tzigane, dedicated to Arányi who gave its first performances in both the original violin-piano version and the orchestral arrangement Ravel made shortly afterward.
Tzigane begins alone for some four minutes on melodies conjure regions beyond the Danube. Eventually, the orchestra joins in a passionate dance melody. Along the way, we hear an astounding array of exotic violin techniques; notice especially the bell-like passages of glittering high harmonics and also the exceptionally complicated pizzicato work.
Instrumentation: Two flutes including piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, trumpet, percussion, harp, celesta, strings.
Petrushka( 1947 version)
Igor Stravinsky
Born in Oranienbaum, Russia, June 17, 1882; died in New York City, April 6, 1971
In June 1910 Paris, the tremendous success of The Firebird— Igor Stravinsky’ s first ballet score for Serge Diaghilev’ s Ballets Russes— suddenly made the young Russian the most talked-about composer in Europe. Naturally, Diaghilev asked for another score post-haste, and the two agreed it would be about a pagan ritual sacrifice in prehistoric Russia— what would eventually become The Rite of Spring.
However, when Diaghilev visited the composer in Lausanne, Switzerland that September, he found Stravinsky caught up in an entirely different work, something he thought might be a concert piece for piano and orchestra. Stravinsky called it“ Petrushka’ s Cry” and said it was inspired by his vision of a carnival puppet“ the immortal and unhappy hero of every fair in all countries.” Diaghilev quickly spotted the dance potential and urged Stravinsky to develop the material into a ballet, sending in Alexandre Benois to assist the composer. The Rite of Spring would not appear until 1913.
Stravinsky and Benois fashioned what they called a“ burlesque in four scenes.” The two outer scenes conjure the swirling crowds and colorful Russian atmosphere of a Shrovetide( Mardi Gras) fair in St. Petersburg around 1830. The more intimate scenes 2 and 3 tell a bittersweet tale of a love triangle between three puppets appearing at the fair: the hapless clown Petrushka, the pretty Ballerina he loves and the sinister Blackamoor who wins her affections. With the legendary Russian danseur Nijinsky playing the title role, Petrushka matched The Firebird’ s success at its premiere in Paris on June 13, 1911.
With the legendary Russian danseur Nijinsky playing the title role, Petrushka matched The Firebird’ s success at its premiere.
The composer concentrated his most daring music in the middle scenes, especially in scene 2, which introduces us to Petrushka’ s melancholy yet feisty character and his sense of oppression under the Magician / Charlatan. Here both orchestration and harmony are more astringent than in The Firebird. Carried over from the composer’ s original conception, the piano plays a very prominent role as one of the voices of Petrushka. As Stravinsky wrote:“ I had in my mind a distinct picture of a puppet suddenly endowed with life, exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggios.” Stravinsky probably created the dissonant bi-tonal( F-sharp Major versus C Major) harmony that became famous as the“ Petrushka chord” from playing on black keys in the left hand against white keys in the right. We hear it first in two wailing clarinets, prominently in the piano, and sassily outlined in Petrushka’ s signature trumpet fanfares.
The original ballet score was created for an enormous orchestra. In 1947, Stravinsky revised its concert version, slightly reducing the instrumental forces. The revised score included the following succinct guide to the ballet’ s action. Four times, you will hear a loud drum tattoo; the first signals the raising of the curtain at the puppet theatre and subsequently, the changes from one scene to the next.
[ Scene 1 ]“ In the midst of Shrovetide rejoicings, an old Charlatan of oriental appearance produces before an amazed crowd the puppets Petrushka, the Ballerina, and the Moor, who execute a wild [ and very Russian ] dance. The magic of the Charlatan [ his spell represented by a sinuous flute melody ] has imbued them with all the human emotions and passions.
[ Scene 2 ]“ Petrushka is better endowed than the others. … He feels bitterly the cruelty of the Charlatan, his slavery, his exclusion from ordinary life, his ugliness and his ridiculous appearance. He seeks consolation in the love of the Ballerina and is on the point of believing himself successful. But the lovely creature only flees in terror before his extraordinary behavior.
[ Scene 3 ]“ The Moor’ s life is quite different. He is foolish and evil, but his rich appearance seduces the Ballerina, who seeks by every means to captivate him and finally succeeds. Just as the love scene begins, Petrushka, mad with jealousy, arrives, and is at once thrown out by the Moor.
[ Scene 4 ]“ The Shrovetide fair is at its height. … Coachmen are dancing with nurses, a bear-tamer arrives with his animal, and finally a troupe of masqueraders leads everyone in a mad whirlwind. Suddenly, cries burst from the little theatre of the Charlatan. The rivalry between the Moor and Petrushka has [ taken ] a tragic turn. The marionettes escape from the theatre, and the Moor kills Petrushka with one blow from his sabre. The wretched Petrushka dies in the snow surrounded by the festive crowd. The Charlatan … hastens to quiet everyone, and in his hands Petrushka becomes the doll once again. The crowd disperses. The Charlatan, now alone, sees to his great terror, on the roof of the little theatre, the ghost of Petrushka [ represented by his brash trumpet fanfares ] who threatens him and leers mockingly at everyone whom the Charlatan has fooled.”
Instrumentation: Three flutes including piccolo, two oboes, English horn, three clarinets including bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, celesta, strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, Copyright © 2017
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