Stravinsky's Petrushka
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Transcript of Stravinsky's Petrushka
7/22/2019 Stravinsky's Petrushka
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Stravinsky: Petrushka
Seamus Ryan
Word Count: 430
Petrushka is my favourite orchestral work of Stravinsky’s for many reasons— the
devilish arpeggiated piano lines, the grounding in the tragic yet comical story of the
corpified traditional puppet, and most of all the ingenuity of Stravinsky in musically
conveying the range of character with his orchestration and his harmonic virtuosity.
I think, however, that the music itself does benefit hugely from its participation in
‘Gesamtkunstwerk’. That is to say, it is very much programme music that can stand
on its own, such is the effect of its musical evocation. This— despite never venturing
into the challenging serialism that Stravinsky would practice later, was an incredibly
difficult work to put on in all facets. In the original rehearsals for the Ballets Russes,
the dancers found much difficulty in navigating the labyrinthine rhythms Stravinsky
had embedded in the piece, Michael Fokine in particular recalls that:
‘Af ter the appearance of the masqueraders, the 5/8 count is played at a very rapid pace. This
was so difficult to grasp that my rehearsal changed into a lesson in rhythmics.’ 1
Petrushka, despite being bound to balletic confined, considerably broadened the
boundaries of that medium.
There are so many fantastic moments and passages in Petrushka to recall; the
flute solo of the puppeteer, the sequence of the death of Petrushka the puppet, the
ending of the second tableau, but I would have to say that my favourite sequence is
the Russian dance from the first tableau. Alexandre Benois, who worked with
1 Michael Fokine, Memoirs of a Ballet Master , Vitale Fokine (trans.), (Boston, Little,
Brown and Company, 1961) 187-8.
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Stravinsky in the early stages of the orchestration, and pushed Stravinsky to develop
the initial concept, put it best when he said:
‘The Russian Dance proved to be really magic music in which infectious diabolical recklessness
alternated with strange digressions into tenderness— then, after a culminating paroxysm,came to an abrupt end.’ 2
In my opinion, the Russian dance is the perfect culmination of all of the components
of Stravinsky’s music— pulsating rhythms, shifting harmonics, creative
orchestration and playful melodies. I find it amazing how it seems to me that
Stravinsky incorporates all the elements fully and wholly without them impeaching
on each other, or sacrificing the overall composition of the piece. As a critic said
following the premiere of Petrushka, ‘Stravinsky’s music is delicious’3. While
Petrushka may not have caused riots like his following Sacre du Printemps soon
would, but despite that it was just as revolutionary within ballet and formed the
touchstone for the rest of Stravinsky’s music. I really enjoy listening to this piece
because no matter how many times you listen to it, there will be something new to
notice always.
2 Alexandre Benois, Reminiscences of the Russian Ballet, Mary Britnieva (trans.),
(London, Putnam & Company, 1941) 324-6.3 Charles Haam (ed.), Petrushka: An Authoritative Score of the Original Version,
(London, W.W. Norton & Company, 1967) 15.