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PROGRAM NOTES
by Daniel Maki
Petrushka (1947 version)
by Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)
Duration: Approximately 34 minutes
First Performance: June 13, 1911 in Paris
Last ESO Performance: March, 2000; Stephen Squires, conductor
In a period of three years shortly before the start of the First World War, Igor
Stravinsky wrote in quick succession for the Ballets Russes in Paris music for three
ballets that established him as one of the great creative figures of the twentieth century.
The first was The Firebird, produced in1910, written in a lush post-romantic style that
has maintained it as Stravinsky’s most accessible and popular work. (The composer grew
to refer to it as “ that great audience lollipop.”) The last of the three, produced in 1913,
was The Rite of Spring, which literally caused one of the most scandalous riots in music
history and immediately became an icon of the “modernist” movement in the arts,
symbolizing the most radical experimental techniques of the time.
Somewhere in between, both chronologically and stylistically, was Petrushka, first
produced in 1911. Although containing many modernist techniques, it was considerably
easier listening than The Rite, and la bourgeoisie was, accordingly, considerably less
épatée. Its early success has continued, and with its brilliant orchestration and
astonishingly original use of rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic elements, it has rightly
taken its place as one of the masterpieces of twentieth century music.
The story takes place in St. Petersburg at the Shrove-Tide fair, that time of year when
Christians in many lands perform with unusual intensity all the forbidden activities that
they plan to renounce during Lent. A Magician, or Charlatan as he is sometimes called,
introduces three puppets beginning with Petrushka, the Russian incarnation of that crafty
archetypal figure drawn from the commedia del’ arte of sixteenth century Italy and
known in various other places as Punch, Polichinelle, or Pulcinella . A beautiful ballerina
and an exotic Moor also make their appearance.
In due course, Petrushka lusts after the ballerina but is rejected by her in favor of the
handsome but stupid and brutal Moor. Petrushka and the Moor fight and Petrushka is
struck dead by the Moor’s scimitar, much to the consternation of the crowd. The
Charlatan reassures the onlookers that Petrushka is only a puppet but as the crowd
disperses, Petrushka’s spirit appears on the roof of the little theatre, thumbing his nose, as
the Charlatan flees in horror.
All these goings-on are, of course, brilliantly depicted in the music. The colorful
introduction perfectly captures the hub-bub of a carnival crowd complete with a carnival
barker touting his attractions and occasional interruptions by organ-grinder music.
Suddenly a deafening drum roll announces the Charlatan. After playing a languorous,
improvisatory solo on his flute, he touches the three puppets with his flute and, to the
astonishment of the crowd, brings them to life as they dance the spectacular Russian
Dance. The story then continues as Petrushka lamely tries
to impress the ballerina, and she tries in turn tries to impress the Moor by playing a saucy
tune on a toy trumpet (the famous cornet solo) and dances with him. After these smaller
scaled and more intimate scenes we return in the final tableau to various crowd and
dance scenes at the carnival, which are finally interrupted by cries from the puppet
theatre as the Moor does poor Petrushhka in.
Petrushka himself is portrayed by the famous “Petrushka chord,” which is actually a
C major chord and an F# major chord played simultaneously to create an early example
of the modernist technique known as polytonality, or the use of two different keys at the
same time. Such dissonant music was intended as the puppet’s brash and often insulting
nature and contrasts with the less dissonant diatonic music of the crowd scenes. The
tunefulness of the score owes much to a number of melodies that Stravinsky cheerfully
purloined and put to his own uses. These include organ-grinder music borrowed from a
French popular song, waltzes borrowed from the Austrian composer Joseph Lanner, and a
number of Russian folk songs.
The prominence of the solo piano part stems from the fact that the work began as a
Konzertstück (concert piece) for piano and orchestra. Stravinsky said that from the
beginning he had conceived the music as representing a puppet, annoying the orchestra
with cascades of arpeggios. Only after some time did the idea occur of naming it after
Petrushka, the character that he himself had enjoyed at carnivals since his childhood.
At the very end of the work we hear Petrushka’s final nose-thumbing retort,
represented by one last statement of the “Petrushka chord.” The chord is in two different
keys just as Petrushka himself is both puppet and human, serving , in the composer’s own
words, “ as the personification of the spiritual and suffering side of humanity.”
* * *
Suite from Sleeping Beauty, op.66a TH 234
by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 -1893)
Duration: Approximately 17 minutes
First Performance: January 15, 1890 in St. Petersburg
Last ESO Performance: November, 1956; Douglas Steensland, conductor
In spite of the difficulties that he had endured with his first ballet, Swan Lake, when
the opportunity presented itself some years later to do another, Tchaikovsky needed very
little persuasion. The idea came in May of 1888 from Ivan Vsevolozhsky , the man
newly appointed by Tsar Alexander III as director of the Imperial Theatres and who had
been charged with making substantial reforms. Vsevolozhsky’s proposition was for a
new ballet on the Sleeping Beauty story, for which he would write a libretto based on
Charles Perrault’s version published in 1697 under the title La Belle au bois dormant. A
major incentive for Tchaikovsky would be the chance to work with the legendary
choreographer Marius Petipa, then at the height of his powers. The collaboration would
prove a great opportunity for Petipa himself, for, although
he had already brought Russian ballet to a remarkably high level, he had never had the
chance to work with a composer of Tchaikovsky’s stature.
Tchaikovsky was delighted to accept the commission and , by all accounts, the three
artists enjoyed a very close and cordial collaboration. They met frequently, conversing,
incidentally , in French, a practice, as readers of Tolstoy will know, that was quite
common among the Russian upper classes of the time. Tchaikovsky paid a number of
visits to Petipa’s house to play excerpts , while the choreographer experimented with
various scenarios using papier-mâché figures.
Tchaikovsky’s enthusiasm for the project spurred him to work remarkably quickly.
After beginning work near the end of 1888, he interrupted the project for a tour that
included, among other places, London, Paris, Berlin, and Hamburg. In Hamburg he had
a chance to hear a performance of his new Fifth Symphony as well as to enjoy a bibulous
lunch with Johannes Brahms (we were “quite drunk”, he wrote), whom he had grown to
like personally despite his distaste for his music. Returning to Russia after a brief side trip
to Greece and Turkey, he worked intensely on the score, completing it on 7 June, 1889.
The entire project was, by his own count, completed in 40 days, a remarkably short time
for a full length ballet. The orchestration would require another two months.
The premiere took place in January of 1890 , to mixed critical reaction.
Tchaikovsky, always touchy about his work, was disappointed by the Tsar’s two word
verdict : “Very nice”. Critics seem to have been puzzled by this ground-breaking new
work. The rich score was thought by some to be “too operatic”, the severe demands on
the dancers thought to be stunts appealing to low popular taste, and the exquisite sets and
costumes “too luxurious.” Nevertheless, audience reaction was enthusiastic and it did not
take long for Sleeping Beauty to become one of the staples of the repertoire. Today it is
widely viewed as the most nearly perfect example of Romantic ballet.
Although the three collaborators may all have been dedicated Francophiles, the result
of their work was what Jennifer Homans in her beautifully written history of ballet,
Apollo’s Angels, calls “the first truly Russian ballet.” The new work combined the
sophistication of the classical techniques which Petipa brought from his native France
with native Russian concepts, all of which was fertilized by Tchaikovsky’s matchlessly
sumptuous and dramatic music. As Ms. Homans points out, the hyper-refined , luxurious
design of the ballet matched the exquisite Easter eggs and other objets d’art produced by
the legendary designer Carl Gustav Fabergé , objects that were much coveted by the
Romanoff family and , along with the gloriously otherworldly character of ballet, perhaps
helped them to forget momentarily the growing political problems of the country that
they ruled.
For those needing re-acquaintance with the story, the tale is set in the sixteenth
century and begins with the christening of the baby princess Aurora. The good fairies
present their gifts to the child, but then the evil fairy Carabosse appears, incensed because
she was not invited to the ceremony. She casts a spell on the princess, according to which
the princess will grow to be beautiful, but will prick her finger and fall into an eternal
sleep. The good Lilac Fairy mitigates the curse by saying that a handsome prince will
discover her, wake her from her sleep with a kiss, and they will marry. Sure enough,
sixteen years later at her coming out, when the princess sees an old woman (Carabosse in
disguise) with a spindle, she takes it and pricks herself, falling into a deep sleep. The
Lilac Fairy causes the entire kingdom to fall asleep not for
eternity but only for a hundred years, and in due course Prince Désiré finds the Princess,
kisses her and thereby awakens her and the entire kingdom. He receives enthusiastic
assent from the King and Queen to marry their daughter and all ends well in the third and
final act. Here, at the wedding, the libretto introduces as guests some of Perrault’s other
Mother Goose characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and Cinderella.
Incidentally, it is no accident that the kingdom awakens at the end of the seventeenth
century during the reign of Louis XIV. The Sun King was a passionate devotee of the art
of the dance and it was at his court that many of the basic principles of ballet were
established . The final Apotheosis of this ballet thus glorifies not only the king but the art
that he helped to establish.
Today’s performance presents three excerpts form the ballet. The Introduction
immediately presents us with two of the leading characters. The noisy, agitated music at
the very beginning is the theme of the wicked fairy Carabosse, while the following gentle
melody heard first in the English horn represents her polar opposite, the good Lilac Fairy.
After the famous signature waltz comes the Pas d’action, which is the famous Rose
Adagio, one of the high points of the ballet. In this scene, the princess receives a rose
from each of her four suitors, while performing the remarkable feat of standing en pointe
on one leg, with the other fully extended . With or without her physical presence,
Tchaikovsky’s wonderfully dramatic music conveys the scene with both power and
grace.
* * *
Suite from Swan Lake, op. 20a
by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Duration: Approximately 27 minutes
First Performance: March 4, 1877 in Moscow
Last ESO Performance: February 2011; Robert Hanson, conductor
When Tchaikovsky accepted a commission in 1875 for a new ballet for the Bolshoi
Theater in Moscow, he knew full well that he would be working in a genre that was
hardly in the best odor among serious musicians. Although the art of ballet itself had
reached a remarkably high level in Russia, the sounds emanating from the orchestra pit
were often of a decidedly lower artistic level than what was occurring onstage.With a few
notable exceptions such as the French composer Leo Delibes, whose ballet scores
delighted Tchaikovsky, much of nineteenth century ballet music was, not to put too fine a
point on it, hackwork, filled with superficial picturesque effects and endless clichés.
Tchaikovsky later admitted that he had accepted the commission “ primarily for the
money” – 800 rubles, to be exact- although he did add the qualifier , “ I have always
wanted to write this sort of thing. “ Whether writing for pecuniary or artistic reasons, the
new work, Swan Lake, would be the richest and most complex ballet score yet written.
Together with his two later ballets, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, these works
are the first elaborate, fully symphonic scores written
specifically for ballet by a major symphonic composer and would bring Russian ballet in
all senses into its Golden Age.
The Golden Age had rather a rocky beginning, however. The premiere took place in
Moscow in 1877, but received mixed critical reviews. By all accounts the opening
performances were poorly mounted, with second rate choreography, poor scenery and
costumes, and the music poorly rehearsed and performed. Much of the music was
considered too complex for dancing and music by inferior composers was inserted into
various parts of the score. Nevertheless, audience reaction was good enough to warrant
some forty performances over the next few years, until the ballet was withdrawn from the
repertoire in 1883. Given the fact that Swan Lake is today one of the most popular of all
ballets, it is a sad irony that Tchaikovsky never had the opportunity to see a first-rate
production during his lifetime.
It would not be until 1895, two years after Tchaikovsky’s death, that a highly
polished production would take place. The production choreographed by Marius Petipa
and Lev Ivanov at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg was a great popular success
and set the precedent for subsequent productions. Purists continue to lament the fact that
these new versions played fast and loose with Tchaikovsky’s original score, including
the reordering of some numbers, elimination of others, and even some re-composition
by another vastly inferior composer. Worst of all, Tchaikovsky’s original tragic ending
was turned into a Hollywood style happy ending. Nevertheless, despite some recent
attempts at using Tchaikovsky’s original score, the overwhelming popularity of the
revised production continues to maintain it as the standard version.
The writer of the libretto is unknown but the source is apparently from German folk
tales. Tchaikovsky himself may actually have had some involvement in the development
of the story for it is known that he had written a swan ballet some time earlier as home
entertainment for his niece and nephew. In any case, the ballet is, briefly put, the sad tale
of the beautiful Swan Queen Odette, who lives under a curse by the evil magician
Rothbart and must spend her daylight days as one of a group of swans in a lake of tears.
Only by night are they free to dance in the nearby ruins. The curse can be lifted only by
an avowal of undying love made by someone who has never pledged himself to another.
Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette and asks her to attend a grand ball where they
will announce their betrothal. Rothbart, however, overhears their plan and sends his evil
daughter Odile, who looks exactly like Odette. Siegfried is completely deceived and
dances the Black Swan pas de deux with Odile, declaring his love. Finally he realizes his
mistake and rushes after Odette. Because he has pledged himself to another, he can no
longer break the spell. Odette throws herself into the lake, and, as Siegfried follows, the
couple die together.
The suite heard today begins with the famous minor key Swan theme, here
mournfully sung by the oboe but recurring throughout the ballet in various guises. After
the well known Valse comes the White Swan pas de deux danced by Siegfried and
Odette with her retinue of swans in the background. The beautifully ornamented violin
solo is joined near the end by an eloquent cello. The Scène that follows contains highly
agitated music illustrating the heartbroken Odette as she rushes into the arms of her
friends and Siegfried as he pursues her through a storm. In the final scene, the Swan
theme reappears in the full orchestra first in its original somber version in B minor but
then turning into a triumphant B major as the lovers drown
and are united in death. A group of swans reappears on the lake as the curtain falls.
* * *