Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trois mouvements de Petrouchka (“Three Movements from Petrushka”) is the title of an arrangement for piano solo of the ballet “ Pétrouchka ” by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky .

Emergence

Stravinsky reports in his work “Recollections” (1936): “During this work [on Pétrouchka ] I had the persistent idea of ​​a puppet that suddenly gains life and the patience of the orchestra so exhausted by the diabolical arpeggio of its jumps that it threatens them with fanfares. From this a terrible confusion develops, which ends at its climax with the painful and lamenting collapse of the poor jumping jack. ”Originally conceived as a concertante piece for piano and orchestra, Stravinsky was convinced of this work by the director of the“ Ballets Russes ”, Sergei Djagilew to do the ballet “Pétrouchka”. Only episodes remained for the piano as an orchestral solo instrument.

In his memoirs, the pianist Arthur Rubinstein describes his discussions with Stravinsky regarding the possibilities of the piano, which the composer considered exclusively a percussion instrument. “I went to the grand piano and played parts from 'Pétrouchka', especially the music in Pétrouchka's room. Stravinsky instantly forgot everything that had gone before and became very professional. 'How do you make your bass sound that way? Do you have a special pedal technique? ' ,Yes, of course. I hold the still vibrating bass with my foot and can therefore change the harmonies in the treble. 'And' I went on jokingly, 'the piano they hate so much can do a lot more.' Igor was completely reconciled now. 'I'll write you a sonata based on motifs from' Pétrouchka '. "

The “Trois mouvements de Pétrouchka” for piano by Igor Stravinsky are one of the most difficult and virtuoso works in piano literature. Stravinsky composed the piano transcription in 1921 and dedicated it to Arthur Rubinstein. In the second movement, “Chez Pétrouchka”, Stravinsky's idea of ​​the keyboard instrument can be clearly recognized: C major versus F sharp major, white versus black keys. The third movement “ La semaine grasse ” places high demands on the player in terms of jumping and striking technique. For the notation of the last movement, Stravinsky almost always uses three, but sometimes also four systems.

Performers

Due to the enormous difficulties of the work, it has only found a few interpreters so far. They include Alfred Brendel , Emil Gilels , Wladimir Horowitz , Maurizio Pollini , Alexis Weissenberg , Daniil Trifonow , Christopher Park , Elena Kuschnerova , the young pianists Yuja Wang from China and Chatia Buniatischwili from Georgia.

Web links

References and footnotes

  1. Arthur Rubinstein: Memories. The early years. Translated from the English by Günther Danehl. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1982.