Thanks for joining us! Our next Rush Hour concert is Rush Hour: Best of Mozart on Friday 3 April, so come back and bring a friend. #calgaryphil
https://t.co/VR9ktGJ7Oy
Want more? You can hear Bartók and Stravinsky again tomorrow, along with Maurice Ravel's shimmering Une barque sur l'ocean, back here at 7:30PM. https://t.co/y0m5bJ1c5a
But then we hear the dissonant sound of Petrushka’s theme. Is this his double, or a ghost? Or is he the real thing, making the character we’ve been following the duplicate?
The piece starts at the Shrovetide Fair. The music is bustling, excited, vibrant and full of activity -- stage designer Alexander Benois called it a "symphony of the street."
As Stravinsky was finishing this work in Nice, France - he heard an organ grinder playing a catchy tune every afternoon outside his window. He assumed it was an old folk tune, so he included it in the first scene of Petrushka...
Bartók and Stravinsky had incredible influence on film music of later eras. Bernard Hermann’s famous score for Psycho is clearly indebted to Bartók, while fragments of John Williams scores like Jaws, Star Wars and E.T. can be traced back to Stravinsky.
In the 20th century, the piano would occasionally be added to symphonic works. The piano part in Petrushka is often considered one of the most difficult to play. Tonight - played by @maestrobertsch
Vaslav Nijinsky played the role of Petrushka in the ballet's premiere. His collaborations with Stravinsky were legendary and his contributions to the composer's success were monumental.
In this story, Petrushka is one of three puppets brought to life by an evil magician. He competes with his rival, the Moor, for the affection of the Ballerina.
Stravinsky hit it big on the scene with his first ballet ‘The Firebird,’ commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for his ‘Ballets Russes.’ You may remember 'The Firebird' from Fantasia