IDAGIO | Stravinsky: Der Feuervogel - Scherzo fantastique 881488110418

Featuring

Jukka-Pekka Saraste
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Igor Stravinsky

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Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Cologne, Philharmonie, with the first piece recorded on September 17-18, 2010, and the second on October 6 and 12, 2010.

Composition History

Igor Stravinsky's initial meeting with impresario Sergey Dyagilev was almost missed, a moment Stravinsky later wondered if it would have prevented him from composing "The Rite of Spring."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Stravinsky held a strong belief in the art of ballet, once writing to his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov that if a Michelangelo were alive today, choreography would be the only thing he would embrace.

Composition History

The libretto for "The Firebird" was created by Mikhail Fokin, a dancer, choreographer, and theatrical consultant for the Ballets russes, who combined two Russian fairy tales.

Compositional Technique

Stravinsky's "Scherzo fantastique" uses a unique orchestral palette, omitting trombones and tuba, and including special instruments like alto flute, "alto trumpet," three harps, and a celesta.

Performer Biography

Jukka-Pekka Saraste, the conductor on this album, began his career as a violinist in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra before studying conducting.

Composer Biography

Stravinsky studied instrumentation with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, a prominent Russian composer and the last surviving member of the "Mighty Handful" group.