Posted April 14, 2025
Igor Stravinsky
(Born in Lomonosov (near St. Petersburg), Russia in 1882; died in New York in 1971)
Petrushka – Burlesque in Four Scenes (1947 Version)
Scene 1: The Shrovetide Fair
Scene 2: Petrushka’s Room
Scene 3: The Moor’s Room
Scene 4: The Shrovetide Fair (Toward Evening)
Instrumentation: 3 flutes (+ piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets (+ bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, tambourine, triangle, tam tam (gong), xylophone, piano, celesta, harp, strings
After their great success with The Firebird in 1910, Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes (in Paris) collaborated again on a second Russian-centric ballet, this one about a beloved Russian folk puppet named Petrushka. The ballet Petrushka’s premiere in 1911 was another titanic success and Stravinsky made several revisions of the music afterwards. The 1947 concert version, played tonight, remains one of the great treasures in the concert hall.
An unquestionable masterpiece, Petrushka’s music is filled with sonic innovations that are often hectic and brash, even surreal. One example is Stravinsky’s use of bi-tonality, or music in two keys at once, most famously the “Petrushka chord,” a C Major chord/arpeggio that clashes simultaneously against F# Major in a sound fabric that often accompanies the character Petrushka. Stravinsky’s angular and surreal soundscapes reflect the story itself – Petrushka dramatizes a bizarre world, where puppets come to life amidst a drunken revelry, and Stravinsky’s music uncannily evokes its grotesqueries and strange psychology.
Scene 1. The Shrovetide Fair: The story takes place in Admiralty Square, St. Petersburg, during the week before Lent. The first scene opens with the tumult of the Fair’s crowds. The Master of Ceremonies bellows invitations (timpani, strings), an organ grinder plays (clarinets), a woman dances about while beating a triangle, and a music box (celeste – like a glockenspiel) opens with its music inspiring more dancing. Drums then draw the crowd’s attention to an old Magician who brings three puppets to life with a magic flute: a Moor, a Ballerina, and the ugly-clown Petrushka (his awakening is portrayed by piccolo chirps). The Magician then commands the three puppets to dance (the famous Russian Dance – Petrushka’s part portrayed by solo piano). The drums play again to herald a scene change.
Scene 2. Petrushka’s Room: Petrushka has been locked into a dark cell and is surprised to discover that he has the full range of human emotions (the “Petrushka chord,” which signifies his puppet/human duality, is first heard in here the clarinets) and he realizes that the Magician is sadistic. Petrushka curses (trumpets) the Magician, until the pretty Ballerina is let into his cell for a visit. Although he is in love with her, she is disgusted by his ugliness and leaves. Petrushka tries to escape by bashing on his cell wall, which opens a window allowing him to see into the Moor’s cell. The drums signal the next scene.
Scene 3. The Moor’s Room: The Moor puppet is handsome but a numbskull. Petrushka sees the Ballerina arrive, hoping she can seduce the Moor by playing a martial tune (trumpet and snare drum) and dancing. Wild with jealousy, Petrushka breaks through the wall and attempts to separate the two puppet lovers, but the Moor coldly boots him out of the room. The drums announce the next scene.
Scene 4. The Shrovetide Fair (Toward Evening): Back at the Fair, the streets are humming with activity. A peasant and a dancing bear (high clarinet and low string bass) appear, but then a shriek is heard from the puppet theater – the Moor has just bludgeoned Petrushka who crumples to the ground (a dropped tambourine), whimpering (piccolo chirps) as he dies. Some buffoonish police arrive (bassoons) to find the Magician holding up Petrushka’s broken parts to show it’s just a puppet. The crowd slowly disperses, and in the darkness, the Magician contemplates mending Petrushka for future tortures, but suddenly from above, Petrushka’s ghost (muted trumpets) brazenly heckles him. Terrified, the Magician runs away, and the scene ends bleakly as Admiralty Square quietly fills with snow.
© Max Derrickson