Program
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Firebird, Suite (1945)
Petrushka, Burlesque in Four Scenes (ed. 1947)
Details
Two masterpieces brought Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes to the foreground of the European musical theatre. In 1910, the ballet “The Firebird” to the music of the previously unknown composer Igor Stravinsky enjoyed incredible success at the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet. The following year Diaghilev brought to Paris a new performance, and it amazed not only the ballet audience, but also the most sophisticated mélomanes. “Petrushka” was created as a synthetic work – Igor Stravinsky composed the music and made up the libretto together with Alexandre Benois, who at the same time acted as a production designer and director of the troupe. Choreographer Mikhail Fokin and other like-minded people in Diaghilev’s circle actively participated in creating this opus magnum of the “Russian Seasons” in 1911.
“The Firebird” develops and brings to the limits of the permissible the late romantic musical language which Stravinsky adopted from his teacher Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. “Petrushka” is the first of many stylistic breakthroughs made by Stravinsky. This, in Benois’s words, “ballet street” is built on vulgar folk motifs, it is full of previously unheard timbre, rhythmic, polytonal findings and opens the way to European neo-folklore movement.
The music of the one-act ballets “The Firebird” and “Petrushka” has become part of the world concert repertoire. Performed by musicAeterna with Teodor Currentzis at the conductor’s podium, both scores will be presented in one evening. The concert will demonstrate how the musical 19th century steps into the 20th century, and how powerfully this step reverberates another hundred years later.