Three Pieces from Petrushka

Before World War I, all the latest trends in art and music seemed to reside in Paris. Radicals of every heritage settled on the banks of the Seine, and cultural events were as likely to culminate in ovations as they were to devolve into fist fights. Russian émigré Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was not yet living in Paris, though that city would witness his explosion into global fame. Stravinsky’s rise began with The Firebird (1910) commissioned by the newly-formed Ballets Russes. Petrushka followed in 1911, cementing Stravinsky’s place among the darlings of modern music.
Petrushka centers on a love triangle between three commedia dell’arte figures: a clown, his adored ballerina, and her beloved Moor—a Pagliacci for puppets overlaid with a tinge of Othello. Petrushka’s love for the ballerina goes unrequited, and the poor hero hastens his demise by challenging the powerful Moor. First danced by Vaslav Nikinsky, Petrushka remains a signature collaboration between leading figures in music, dance, dramatic scenario, and set design. We will hear two selections. In Chez Petrushka we glimpse inside the puppets’ private worlds. Framed as a scene inside his personal room, the movement becomes a chance to peek inside the tragic hero’s mind. Unceremoniously booted into the room, Petrushka’s emotions range from fearful cowering under the watchful eye the all-powerful puppet master to reverential brooding over the ballerina. Stravinsky’s score likewise ranges from biting dissonant outbursts to more tender gestures. The defining sonority, henceforth called the “Petrushka chord,” features superimposed triads that are a tritone apart; in this case, C major and F-sharp major. (One can mimic this sound by playing only white keys in the left hand and only black keys in the right.) Stravinsky wrote this material before anything else, and the original concept was to be a concertino for piano and orchestra. Only after the director of the Ballets Russes, Serge Diaghilev, effused over the material did Stravinsky commit to developing a scenario for full-length ballet. Still, the piano retains its leading role, particularly in Chez Petrushka, and it makes for a fairly smooth adaptation for two pianos (as heard tonight). The famous Russian dance immediately precedes this scene in the original ballet and offers a vigorous dance for the three puppets. The dance quotes a well-known Russian folk song, though other moments are Stravinsky’s own pseudo-folk music.

(c) Jason Stell