In 1909 Stravinsky wrote “The Nightingale,” a combination of opera and ballet, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name. This was produced in 1914.
Then came the discovery of Stravinsky by the director of the Russian ballet, Serge de Diaghileff. The young composer was commissioned to write a ballet on a Russian folk story, the scenario of which was furnished by Michel Fokine. Leon Bakst and Golovine, the scene painters, collaborated with him. This ballet, “The Fire Bird,” was finished on May 18, 1910, and produced three weeks later. This production established Stravinsky’s reputation in Paris.
The second of his ballets, “Petrouschka,” was completed on May 26, 1911. It was first produced in Paris in the same year. The scene of Petrouschka is a carnival. One of the characters is a showman, and in his booth are three animated dolls. In the center is one with pink cheeks and a glassy stare. On one side of this is a fierce negro, and on the other the simple Petrouschka. These three play out a tragedy of love and jealousy, which ends with the shedding of Petrouschka’s vital sawdust. One critic has said: “This ballet is, properly speaking, a travesty of human passion, expressed in terms of puppet gestures and illumined by music as expositor. The carnival music is a sheer joy, and the incidents making a demand upon music as a depictive medium have been treated not merely with marvelous skill, but with unfailing instinct for the true satirical touch. ‘Petrouschka’ is, in fact, the musical presentment of Russian fantastic humor in the second generation.”
“The Crowning of Spring” was composed during the winter of 1912 and 1913, and was produced both in Paris and London during the following spring and summer.
Recently Stravinsky has composed several songs which are done in the same spirit as that in which he wrote his compositions for the orchestra.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 18, SERIAL No. 118
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
THE MENTOR · DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTS · NOV. 1, 1916.
RUSSIAN MUSIC
By HENRY T. FINCK