The Nutcracker, Petrushka, Cinderella & The Firebird

Featuring

Alexander Ullman
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Igor Stravinsky
Sergei Prokofiev

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Compositional Technique

Guido Agosti's transcription of 'The Firebird' for piano is highly virtuosic, often notated on three staves, and includes challenging passages like pounding double octaves and vertiginous leaps.

Historical Context

Prokofiev's ballet 'Cinderella' was adapted to suit Socialist Realist dogma during World War II, portraying Cinderella as the USSR and her stepmother as the Third Reich.

Composition History

Stravinsky's 'Three Movements from Petrushka' was crafted for Polish pianist Arthur Rubinstein ten years after the ballet's premiere, specifically to highlight the piano's unique timbres.

Composer Biography

Igor Stravinsky, a St. Petersburg musician, received his first piano lessons at age nine and later found his precise piano technique invaluable for composing at the keyboard.

Composition History

Mikhail Pletnev, a pianist and composer, arranged his 'Concert Suite' from 'The Nutcracker' shortly before winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, drawing from both the orchestral suite and the full ballet.

Compositional Technique

Prokofiev's 'Six Pieces from Cinderella' for solo piano, arranged by the composer, are the last and most generous of three such sets, conveying a persuasive sense of freedom despite the ballet's disjointed nature.