The Grand Finale

Igor Stravinsky

Orchestra Kentucky will conclude the October 25th You Be the Judge! concert with the Berceuse and Finale to Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. The orchestra's professional members will be joined by ten amateur musicians, who have been invited to join the orchestra for the concert's finale.

Igor Stravinsky is one of my top ten favorite composers. He composed The Rite of Spring, which is one of my desert island pieces. Why do I love Stravinsky so much? I guess it's the unpredictability and energy in his music. Although I have listened to the Rite hundreds of times, I discover something new every time. So, if I'm on a deserted island, what better piece is there? Monday's concert won't, however, feature the Rite. Instead, Orchestra Kentucky will perform music from Stravinsky's first ballet--The Firebird. This holds a special place in my heart, as it is the first orchestral music I ever conducted. It was 1984 and I was a senior at the University of Louisville in Professor James Livingston's class. It was my final exam. Of course, I was nervous. But what a thrill it was!

Before we get into a discussion of The Firebird, let me give you some background information on Stravinsky.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, Russia (renamed Lomonosov in 1948) on June 17, 1882. He died on April 6, 1971 in New York City. Stravinsky is regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest and most influential composers.

Stravinsky's compositional style changed throughout his career. He became internationally famous through three ballets, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario of the Russian Ballets. They were The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Because of its originality, The Rite provoked a riot at its premiere. Music was never the same after that night.

Stravinsky's next phase came in the 1920s. His works from this period used traditional forms, like the concerto grosso, fugue, and symphony. Known as his neoclassic period, the music often paid tribute to earlier masters like Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Pergolesi.

In the 1950s, Stravinsky entered his serial phase. Serial music, or twelve-tone music, is organized by using the twelve tones of the chromatic scale, rather than relying on traditional harmony. Shoenberg was its primary proponent.  But let's turn back to Stravinsky's first period, since that is what concerns us for this concert.

The Firebird (1910), was choreographed by Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor. This ballet "put Stravinsky on the map". Diaghilev, the ballet's commissioner, told the lead dancer, "Mark him well. He is a man on the eve of celebrity." The Russian Ballets (Ballets Russes) premiered the ballet in Paris on June 25, 1910. It was quite successful with critics, who considered the work an "ideal symbiosis between decor, choreography, and music." Its success lead to further collaborations with Diaghilev and the two aforementioned ballets.


Stravinsky created a suite from the ballet, which went through three different permutations. Orchestra Kentucky will play the last two movements of the second version of the suite, completed in 1919. The movements are: (1) Introduction - The Firebird and its dance - The Firebird's variation; (2) The Princesses’ Khorovod (Rondo, round dance); (3) Infernal dance of King Kashchei; (4) Berceuse (Lullaby); (5) Finale.


Stravinsky wrote for the following instruments: 2 Flutes (2nd also plays piccolo); 2 Oboes (2nd also plays English Horn for one measure); 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte (also opt. Celesta); Strings.

Watch Stravinsky, himself, conduct the Berceuse and Finale.

Tomorrow I will begin discussing the music played on the orchestra's next Retro Series concert, Rock 'n Roll Heaven.