Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano, Capriccio, Movements & Petrushka

Featuring

Yan Pascal Tortelier
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
Igor Stravinsky

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Stravinsky stated that he found the piano's 'neat, clear sonority and polyphonic resources' suited the 'dryness and neatness' he sought in the structure of his music.

Composition History

The idea for Stravinsky's ballet Pétrouchka came to him while awaiting the birth of his third child, envisioning a puppet 'suddenly endowed with life' exasperating an orchestra.

Notable Performances

At the 1911 premiere of Pétrouchka, the score, rigorously conducted by the 36-year-old Pierre Monteux, stole the limelight, a first for the Ballets Russes.

Composition History

Stravinsky's Movements was a commissioned work for $15,000 for ten minutes of music, a significant sum at the time, by Swiss tycoon Karl Weber for his pianist wife, Margrit.

Compositional Technique

The Capriccio's form was inspired by Praetorius's definition of 'capriccio' as a synonym for 'fantasia,' a free form made of fugato instrumental passages.

Composition History

Stravinsky's first piece for piano and orchestra, initially conceived as a concert-piece dialogue in 1910, was soon incorporated into his ballet Pétrouchka.

Interpretation

Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet found it challenging to blend into the orchestral sound during rehearsals, being accustomed to a more prominent solo role.