Circus polka

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Ringling Brothers Circus elephants (photo taken in 1907)

Die Zirkuspolka (full original title: Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant ) is an instrumental piece by Igor Stravinsky that was originally composed in 1942 for a ballet production by the choreographer George Balanchine for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus . The circus polka was performed by a ballet consisting of 50 elephants and 50 ballerinas . In 1944, Stravinsky published an orchestral version of the Circus Polka , which has since been part of the standard program of many orchestras.

History of origin

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky and George Balanchine met in 1925 when Balanchine, the newly hired choreographer for Dyagilev's Ballets Russes, staged Stravinsky's symphonic poem Le chant du rossignol as a ballet. A long-lasting friendship and working relationship developed that continued when they both emigrated to the United States in the 1930s .

At the end of 1941, the management of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus contacted Balanchine with the unusual request to choreograph a circus act for their famous elephant group for the next spring season in New York . Balanchine immediately suggested a collaboration with Stravinsky, which the circus company loved. Stravinsky only found out about the proposal by telephone on January 12, 1942. Balanchine later repeated the conversation with Stravinsky as follows:

Balanchine: "I wanted to ask you if you want to do a little ballet with me."
Stravinsky: "For whom?"
Balanchine: "For some elephants."
Stravinsky: "How old?"
Balanchine: "Very young."
Stravinsky (after a pause in a serious voice): “All right. When the elephants are very young, I'll do it. "

Although Stravinsky was busy with his own projects, he negotiated a high fee with Ringling Brothers for a short piece of music, which he completed within a few days. The piano version of the Circus Polka , which received the dedication “For a young elephant” in reference to Stravinski's telephone conversation with Balanchine , was completed on February 5, 1942.

Even if the piece of music is polka in name , it contains various rhythm changes. Only at the end of the almost four-minute composition does a polka sound, which turns out to be a musical quote from Schubert's military march . Stravinsky always denied that this finale of the circus polka was a parody of the marche militaire . He later saw his circus polka as a satire and as a musical equivalent to the drawings of Toulouse-Lautrec , even if this intention does not emerge from his notes during the composition.

Stravinsky was no longer involved in staging the ballet performance. The arrangement of the circus polka for a wind orchestra and organ was created by the film music composer David Raksin . George Balanchine created a choreography for the 50 elephants and 50 human dancers of the circus, led by the elephant Modoc and Balanchine's wife and prima ballerina Vera Zorina . The elephants (including the bulls) were wedged into pink tutus . Contemporary reporters were initially concerned that Stravinski's music could cause panic among the animals, and finally Balanchine managed to rehearse a "dance" choreography with Modoc.

The production, advertised as a “choreographic tour de force”, premiered on April 9, 1942 in New York's Madison Square Garden . The circus performance was a great success and the audience was particularly enthusiastic about the unusual ballet performance. After the premiere, the circus polka was performed another 424 times by the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus - Stravinsky never saw the production himself.

Edits

Two years after his original piano version, Igor Stravinsky arranged the circus polka for an orchestral performance. The premiere of this version took place together with the Four Norwegian Moods in January 1944 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Stravinsky on the conductor's podium. In the following months, several benefit concerts in support of the United States Army in World War II took place, which were broadcast on the radio. Stravinsky reported that after a transmission he had received a telegram from a lady elephant named Bessie , who had been part of the ballet in 1942, and whom he subsequently met in Los Angeles . Charles de Gaulle, on the other hand, when he had heard another transmission, ordered the sheet music for the piano version and took it with him to France. The orchestral version of the Zirkuspolka quickly established itself in the programs of many orchestras and is now particularly popular in children's concerts.

George Balanchine also devoted himself to the ballet again and in 1945 designed a new choreography without animals for a one-off performance by the New York City Ballet (NYCB) under the direction of Lincoln Kirstein . When Jerome Robbins became director of the New York City Ballet in 1972, he created a new production of Circus Polka , in which Elevinnen of the School of American Ballet took on the role of elephants led by an elderly trainer . This choreography has since been part of the repertoire of the NYCB, often with guest appearances by prominent dancers such as Mikhail Baryshnikov as a trainer.

In 2006, an illustrated children's book was published in the United States that tells the story of the circus polka .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles M. Joseph: Stravinsky and Balanchine , p. 60.
  2. ↑ Davida Krista: quoted from: George Balanchine: American Ballet Master . Lerner Publication, Minneapolis 1996, ISBN 0-8225-4951-4 , p. 72.
  3. ^ Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft: Memories and Commentaries . Faber and Faber, London 2002, ISBN 0-571-21242-5 , p. 234.
  4. ^ Charles M. Joseph: Stravinsky Inside Out . Yale University Press, New Haven 2001, ISBN 0-300-07537-5 , p. 20.
  5. ↑ Neil Wenborn: Stravinsky . Omnibus Press, London 1999, ISBN 0-7119-7651-1 , p. 136.
  6. ^ The New York Times : CIRCUS OPENS AMID NEW BRILLIANCE; Blue and Red Sawdust, Bathed in Lights of Many Hues, Add Glamorous Background HUMAN BUNNIES DANCE Children and Adults Alike Are Thrilled as 50 Elephants Take Part in a Ballet from April 10, 1942.
  7. ^ A b Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft: Memories and Commentaries . Faber and Faber, London 2002, ISBN 0-571-21242-5 , p. 235.
  8. ^ A b Charles M. Joseph: Stravinsky and Balanchine , p. 168.

literature

  • Charles M. Joseph: Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention . Yale University Press, New Haven 2002, ISBN 0-300-08712-8 . (English)
  • Leda Schubert: Ballet of the Elephants . Roaring Brook Press, New Milfort 2006, ISBN 1-59643-075-3 . (English)

Web links