sttravinksy piano treatment thesis

7/24/2019 Sttravinksy Piano Treatment Thesis

1/182

T R E A T M E N T O F T H E P I A N O IN T H E O R C H E S T R A L

W O R K S O F IG O R S T R A V I N S K Y

b y

J A M E S F . R A U S C H E R , B . M . E . , M . M .

A D I S S E R T A T I O N

IN

F I N E A R T S

S ub mi tt e d t o t h e G r a d u a t e F a c u l t y o f

T e x a s T e c h U n i v e r s i t y

i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t o f

t h e R e q u i r e m e n t s f o r

t h e D e g r e e o f

D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y

A p p r o v e d

A c c e p t e d

D e c e m b e r , 1 9 9 1


2/182


3/182

A C K N O WLED G M EN TS

A project of this scope could not have been completed without the help

of m an y indiv idua ls. I would l ike to expres s my appre ciat ion to al l who were

involved in thi s pap er from it s conception to i ts com pletion. A special word of

appreciation is extended to the following.

I would l ike to thank Dr. Wil l iam Westney, who, as my main advisor ,

appl ied piano professor, mentor , and fr iend, has been an inspirat ion and

guiding force in m y m usical developm ent for the pa st six ye ars. Ap preciat ion

is also expressed to the four other members of my committee for their

assistance and construct ive cri t icisms.

Dr. D ale Roller , ret i red C ha irm an of the D ivision of Fin e A rts at

Amari l lo College, has been a constant source of encouragement and support in

urg ing m e to complete my doctoral studie s. Jan ice Gil lham and N ancy

Klingsl ick of the L ynn L ibrary/L earn ing C ente r at Ama ri llo College were

ins t rumental in help ing to obtain needed database informat ion as wel l as

musical scores and reference materials .

A special word of appreciation is expressed to Mr. Terry Moore,

Associate Professor of Modern Languages at Amarillo College, for his

pa ins ta king t ra nsla t ion in to Engl i sh of the Ge rm an disser ta t ion by Pa ul T erse ,

Studien zur Verwend ung des Konzertflugels im Opernorch ester in der Zeit.

Appreciat ion is expressed to four music publ ishing companies for

graciously con sen t ing to allow the quo t ing of m usical ex cerpts from the ir

cop5n-ighted sco res: C P P Be lwin , Inc.; Boosey &Ha w kes, Inc. ; G. S chi rmer ,

Inc.; and European American Music Dis t r ibutors Corporat ion , so le U.S. and

Canadian agent for Schott of London.

I give pra ise an d tha nk s to the t r i ime God: F ath er , Son and H oly Spir i t .

All abi l i t ies and talents which I possess come from Him, and this document

wa s accompl ished throu gh th e pray ers of m an y people .

u


4/182

I express my appreciation and love to my parents, Francis and Shirley

Rauscher, who nurtured my love for music from an early age and encouraged

an d s upp orted m e in every step of my career. The solid family life which they

provided m e along with my sisters, Mary and T erri, was th e foundation upon

which I have bu ilt my adult life. Finally, I w ant to than k m y wife, Van essa,

and my two children, John and Ann, whose constant support, faith, and love

during all of the difficulties experienced throughout the degree program have

made it possible for me to complete my studies; they are the three main

reasons for which I finished this project.

n i


5/182

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A C K N O WLED G EM EN TS i i

ABSTRACT vi

LIST OF TAB LES vii i

LIST OF FIGU RE S ix

PREFACE xi i

C H A PTER

I . INTRODU CTION 1^

Role of the Piano in the M ode m O rch estra 2

Piano in the Orchest ra Pr ior to St ravinsky 's

Com positions 3 '

Orc hest ra l W orks wi th Piano 4 J

Lim its of the Stu dy 7

M ethodology of the Stu dy 8

II . TH E EARLY W ORK S: 1909-1920 11

L'Oiseau de Feu

(Original 1910 version) 11

Petrouchka 12

Le Chant du Rossignol 24

Suite L'Oiseau de Feu

29

I I I . TH E MIDD LE PER IOD WO RKS: 1920-1955 37

Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra 38

Concerto for Piano and Winds

44

Oedipus Rex 59

Quatre Etudes pour Orchestre 63

Capriccio

67

Symphony of Psalms 70

^

Persephone 75

Scherzo a la Russe

(Symphonic Version) 80

Scenes de Ballet 82

IV

._


6/182

Symphony in Three Movem ents 82

Greeting Prelude for Orchestra 92

IV. T H E LATE W OR KS: 1957-1966 94

Agon

95

Threni: Id Est Lam entationes Jeremiz Prophetse

98

Movements for Piano and Orchestra

102

A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer 106

The Flood 107

Variations: Aldous Hu xley in Mem oriam 108

Canon for Concert Introduction or Encore

I l l

Requiem Canticles

114

Stravinsky 's At t i tudes Regarding Non- t radi t ional

U sag e of Pia no 116

V. SUMMARY AND CONC LUSION 119

Doubl ings wi th Othe r Ins t rum en ts 119

Octave U sage 121

Pi an istic Effects 122

Pe rcu ssiv e Effects 123

Pe dal Usa ge 124

Solo Passa ge-w ork 124

Conclusion 125

SELE CTE D BIBLIOGRAPHY 126

APPENDIX 130


7/182

ABSTRACT

Igor Stra vin sk y wa s one of th e first com posers to us e the pianoforte as

an inte gra l m em be r of the sym phonic orch estra. Th e inclusion of piano w ithin

the orchestra spans nearly his ent i re creat ive output , from

L'Oiseau de Feu

of

1909 to Requiem Canticles of 1966, in a total of twenty-two separate works.

The wa ys in which St ravinsky t re ated th e p iano wi th in the orchest ra , and the

changes in this t reatment which took place during his composi t ional career ,

form the basis of this study.

Scores of each work were analyzed in terms of Stravinsky's t reatment

of th e piano within th e orchestral tex ture , part ic ularly in rega rd to the

following: doub lings w ith othe r ins trim ien ts; octave us ag e; pia nistic effects

such as gl issandi , t r i l ls , arpeggiated f igures, al ternat ing hand passages, and

tremolos; percussive effects; use of pedals; solo passage work; proportion of

piano usage to ent i re work; and t rea tm en t of rhy thm in p iano usage. A table

show ing the ana lysis of each work is given in the Appendix. The discussion

of indiv idua l wo rks is divided into thre e ch ap ters d eal ing with th e early,

m iddle, an d late composi tional periods, respect ively. T re atm en t of the pian o

in each work is discussed, accompanied by pert inent examples from the score.

The las t chap ter of tex t contains a sum m ary of the m ater ia l presen ted

an d stat es conclusions which hav e been draw n: Stra vins ky's earl ies t uses of \^

the piano in the orchestra were primari ly as a soloist ic instrument or as a

doubling instr im aen t within th e context of a huge orc hestra, in accordance with

his R uss ian composi t ional t rain ing . As he moved tow ard a thin ne r, more

contrapuntal style which rel ied onconcertato principles, the role of the piano

increased in importance because i ts percussive and pol5rphonic qual i t ies so

closely m atch ed th e aesthe t ic he w as wo rking to achieve. Fina l ly, wh en he

turned to serial ism in the 1950s, the piano's tone became primary in impor

tance as a dist inct color in his textural and tonal spectrum, and i ts usage

primari ly as a single l ine instrument ref lected the more point i l l is t ic approach

vi


8/182

to composi t ion in th e f inal wo rks. Com posers, conductors, and p ian ists in

part icular wil l benefi t f rom studying his unique t reatment of the piano within

the orchest ra .

Vl l


9/182

LIST OF TABLES

1. Chrono logical L isting of th e O rch estr al W orks of

Igor St rav insky Con tain ing Piano 5

2.

Chronological List ing of the O rche stral W orks of

Igor St rav insky Not Contain ing Piano 6

3.

L'Oiseau de Feu (Origina l 1910 version) 133

4.

Petrouchka

134

5.

Le Chant du Rossignol

137

6. Suite L'Oiseau de Feu 139

7.

Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra 141

8.


142

9.

Oedipus Rex

145

10. Quatre Etudes pour Orchestre 147

11.

Capriccio 149

12. Symphony of Psalms 152

13. Persephone

154

14. Scherzo a la Russe

(Symp honic Version) 156

15. Scenes de Ballet 157

16. Symphony in Three Movem ents 158

17. Greeting Prelude for Orchestra 160

18. Agon 161

19.

Threni: Id Est Lam entationes Jerem iae Prophetae 162

20. Movem ents for Piano and Orchestra

163

21 . A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer

164

22. The Flood 165

23. Variations: Aldous Huxley in Memoriam 166

24.

Cano n for Concert Introduction or Encore

167

25. Requiem Canticles 168

V l l l


10/182

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Petrouchka^ m eas ure s 26-31 14

2. Petrouchka^

m ea su res 226-232 15

3.

Petrouchka,

m eas ures 305-311 16

4.

Petrouchka,

m eas ures 466-481 18

5.

Petrouchka,

m ea su res 737-747 19

6. Petrouchka, m eas ures 972-977 21

7.

Petrouchka,

m ea su res 1063-1067 22

8. Petrouchka, m ea su res 1188-1202 23

9.

Le Chant du Rossignol,

m ea sur es 21-32 26

10.

Le Chant du Rossignol,

m ea su res 150-156 27

11. Le Chant du Rossignol, m ea sur es 460-465 28

12. Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu,


13.

Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu,


14. Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, m ea su res 230-233 33

15. Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, m ea su res 270-273 34

16. Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, m eas ure s 331-335 35

17. Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, m eas ure s 398-404 36

18. "Marche," from

Suite N o. 2 for Small Orchestra,

m ea su res 1-4 39

19. "Marche," from Suite N o. 2 for Sm all Orch estra,

m eas ure s 26-29 40

20. "Galop," from

Suite N o. 2 for Sm all Orchestra,

m ea su res 1-5 41

21. "Galop," from Suite No . 2 for Small Orchestra,

m eas ure s 6-12 42

22. Concerto for Piano and W ind Instruments,

Mvt. I,


23 . Concerto for Piano and W ind Instruments, M vt. I,


IX


11/182

24 . Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, Mvt. I,

m ea sur es 256-276 50

25.

Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments,

M vt. I,

m ea sur es 307-316 51

26. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, Mvt. I,

m ea sur es 328-332 53

27. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, Mvt. II,

m ea su res 408-418 54

28.

Concerto for Piano and W ind Instruments,

Mvt. II,

m ea sur es 419-428 55

29.

Concerto for Piano and W ind Instruments, Mvt. Ill,

m ea sur es 480-489 57

30. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, Mvt. Ill,

m ea sur es 600-605 58

31 .

Oedipus Rex, m eas ures 31-33 60

32.

Oedipus Rex, m eas ures 496-501 61

33. Oedipus Rex, Act II, m ea su re s 127-137 62

34. "Danse," from

Quatre Etudes pour Orchestre,

m ea su res 1-6 64

35 . "Excentrique," from Quatre Etudes pour Orchestre,

m ea sure s 37-48 65

36. "Madrid," from

Quatre Etudes pour Orchestre,

m ea sure s 63-65 66

37. Capriccio,

m ea su res 79-84 68

38. Capriccio, m eas ures 446-450 69

39. Symphony of Psalms,

m ea sur es 1-5 71

40.

Symphony of Psalms,

m ea su res 17-21 72

4 1 .

Symphony of Psalms, m ea su res 50-52 73

42. Symphony of Psalms,

m ea su res 133-136 74

43 . Persephone,

m ea su res 1-3 76

44 .

Persephone,

m ea su res 120-123 77

4 5 . Persephone, m eas ure s 561-563 78

46 .

Persephone,

m eas ure s 743-745 79


12/182


13/182

PR EFA C E

A voluminous a m oun t of m ater ia l h as been wri t ten about the m usic of

Igor St ra vin sk y. H is w orks for solo piano and for solo pian o w ith orc he stra

ha ve bee n considerably analyze d, resea rche d, and discussed. Ch arles M,

Joseph in part icular has wri t ten extensively about Stravinsky's solo piano

music and the importance of the piano in his composi t ional technique, in A

Study of Igor Stravinsky's Piano Com positions

and

Stravinsky and the Piano.

To date, however, l i t t le has been wri t ten regarding Stravinsky's use of the

piano as an orchestral instrument , which leaves a small gap in the total

understanding of Stravinsky's percept ions of the possibi l i t ies for piano usage.

It is hoped that this paper will , in some small way, begin to fi l l that gap.

Xl l


14/182

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In considering the possibili t ies of the pianoforte as a musical

in st ru m en t in connect ion of my Concerto, I wa s confronted w ith

the fact th at th e t re atm en t of the ins t ru m en t by the composers of

the n ineteenth century made no appeal to me whatever in the

sen se wh ich I desire d to employ it . Th e com poser h a s a definite

obligation to his art which is destroyed if he is fettered by

convent ions . . . . I f Sch um ann ha d held to the conventions of

Scar la t t i , there would have been no Schumann as we know him.

It is in orchestral employment that the piano appears to me as

a wonderful percussion ins trum en t . The piano ha s i ts own

ind ivid ua lity an d its own significance. Like all ar t , i t is subject

to a chronological develop m ent. In the pas t the piano ha s been

t reated at t imes as though i t were a vocal ins t rument - that i s i t

w as m ad e to sing, in fact i t was c hea ted out of ever5d:hing b u t i ts

own very evident and individual character as a percussion

i n s t r u men t .

This concept of the piano seemed to be developed in my mind

for a long period of t im e like a gr ea t tre e. D urin g th e pa st y ear ,

i t bore frui t in my Concerto. I have endeavo red to restore the

piano to i ts rightful place as a percussion instrument.^

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (1882-1971) made these comments about

the piano and i ts possibi l i t ies as an orchestral instrument in the mid 1920s.

H is position a s a com poser at th e forefront of his ge ne ratio n ha d alr ea dy be en

establ ished in the previous decade with the scores of

L'Oiseau de feu,

Petrouchka, an d Le Sacre du Printemps. Thou gh hai led as a visionary, he

seem ed to view himself more as a react iona ry, pul l ing aw ay from th e excesses

an d opulence of nin ete en th centu ry rom anticism . As can be asc ertain ed from

the above quotat ion, he admired the piano for i ts percussiveness and i ts

me chanical , impersona l qual i ty , and he emph asized these t ra i t s in h is w r i t ing

for th e pian o. H e wou ld con tinue to compose for th e nex t forty ye ar s, an d t he

^J. F . Cooke, Chronological Pro gre ss in M usical Art,

The Etude

44 (August

1926): 559-560, as quoted in Charle s M. Jos ep h,

Stravinsky and the Piano

(Ann Arbor, Michigan: UM I Res earch P res s, 1983), p . 158.


15/182

piano w ould often be an imp ort an t comp onent in expressing his m ost profound

though t s .

Stravinsky was one of the first composers to use the pianoforte as an

inte gra l me m be r of the sym phonic orchestra. The inclusion of piano within the

orchestra spans nearly his ent i re creat ive output , from the early

L'Oiseau de

Feu of 1909 toRequiem Canticles of 1966, one of his la st wo rks. Th e way s in

which St ravinsky t reated the p iano wi th in the orchest ra and the changes in

this t reatment which took place from the beginning to the end of his

com posi tional care er form th e basis of the p res en t study.

Role of the P iano in the M odem Orc hes tra

Althou gh m an y orchestral works which include piano hav e been w ri t ten

in the twentieth century, a study of several standard orchestrat ion books in

print reveals very l i t t le wri t ten on the role of the piano in the modern

orc hes tra. Gordon Jaco b com me nts only th a t the harp , celesta, and piano

cann ot be classif ied w ithin st r ings , woodwinds, bra ss or percussion; the ha rp

is now a reg ula r m em be r of the orches tra, an d the others are som etimes used

for specia l effects.^ H . Ow en Re ed's book de aling with sc oring for pe rcu ssio n

makes no mention of the piano as being a member of the percussion sect ion.^

Walter Piston 's defini t ive book on orchestrat ion does contain a short chapter

deal ing wi th keyboard ins t rum en ts , in which he m ent ions th at u se of the p iano

as an orche st ra l ins t ru m en t d id not come to pass imt i l the tw ent ie th century .

He c i tes th e chief use of the piano w ithin the orc hestra as th a t of doubling

othe r in st ru m en ts, by [which] an incisiveness, due to the percussive q ual i ty

^Gordon Jacob, Orchestral Technique, A Manual For Students, 3rd ed.

(London : Oxford Uni ve rsity Pr es s, 1982), p. 3.

^H .

Owen Reed and Joel T. Leach,

Scoring F or Percussion, and the

Instruments of the Percussion Sec tion (Englewood Cliffs, Ne w Je rse y: Pre ntic e-

Hall , Inc., 1969).


16/182

of the p iano, is imp ar ted to any ins t r ima ent or grou p-s t r ing s , woodwind, bras s ,

or percussion, in all registers. *

Piano in the Orchestra Prior to Stravinskv's Composi t ions

After the pract ice of ut i l izing a keyboard instrument in the role of a

cont inuo within the orchestra died out in the early nineteenth century, the

piano was not general ly considered to be a member of the ensemble; when i t

ap pe are d with orch estra, i t wa s as a solo concerto ins tru m en t . Hector Berhoz

(1803-1869), one of th e gr ea te st o rche stra tors of all t im e, was pro bably the first

composer to use the piano within the orchestra in a non-concerto work in his

oratorio,

Lelio.

In his

Treatise on Instrumentation,

he stated :

T ha nk s to the high degree of perfection a t tain ed by our ski l led

manufacturers, the pianoforte may now be considered from two

view points: ei ther a s an orche stral ins tru m en t or as a small v^

orchestra complete in

itself.

Only once h a s i t bee n employed in

the same fashion as the other instruments, so as to add i ts

pec ul iar resource s to the ensem ble of the orc hestra and to create

effects which could not be attained in any other way [referring to

his own work,Le lio].^

Berlioz credited Beethoven for pointing out ways in which the piano could be

used non-soloist ical ly within the orchestra:

C ert ain pa ssa ges in Beethoven 's concertos ough t to hav e dra w n

th e com posers ' at te nt io n to this point long ago. They hav e surely

admired the wonderfii l effect in Beethoven's Concerto in E flat ,

prod uce d by th e slow chord figurations of bo th h an ds in the high

region of the piano, while the flute, clarinet, and bassoon play the

melody over eighth-notes of the st r ings in contretemps.^

^Walter Piston, Orchestration (New York: W. W. No rton & Com pany, Inc. ,

1955),

p . 34 1.

^Hector Berlioz,

Treatise on Instrumentation,

enlarge d/revised Richa rd

S t ra us s , t ra ns . Theodore Fro nt (New York: Edw in F. K alm us Pu bl i sh ing ,

1948), p. 153.

^Berlioz, p. 154.


17/182

In Russia , wh ere St rav insky grew up, the p iano was infrequent ly used

w ithin th e orc hes tra. Stra vins ky's only composi tion teach er, Nikolay Rimsky-

Korsakov, who was well-known for his bri l l iant orchestrat ions, commented in

his

Principles of Orch estration:

Th e use of a piano in the o rche stra (ap art from pianoforte

concertos) belongs almost entirely to the Russian school [Rimsky-

Korsakov 's opera Sadko an d Mo ussorgsky's Boris Godounov a re ^

par t i cu la r ly in t e res t ing in th i s r espec t - t r ans l a to r ' s note] . The

object is two-fold: th e q ua lity of tone , eith er alon e, or com bined

wi th t h a t of the h arp , i s m ade to im i tate a popular ins t ru m en t ,

th e guzli (as in Glink a), or a soft peal of bells. W he n the pian o

forms pa rt of an o rchestra, not as a solo ins tru m en t , an up righ t

is preferable to a grand, but today the piano is gradual ly being

superseded by the celesta, first used by Tschaikovsky.^

Stra vin sky , the n, had as models the mu sic of his teache r and th e music of

other prominent Russian composers to help mold his concepts of sound and

orche st ra t ion , and th e use of p iano as an orchest ra l ins t ru m en t wa s a d is tinct

part of that overall concept.

Orchest ra l Works wi th Piano

Ap proxim ately one-half of Strav insky 's works for orchestra includ e p iano

in th e instr im ien tat io n. Some orchestral works also include pa rts for chorus

and/or soloists. The twenty-two works which will form the basis for this study

ar e pre se nte d in Tab le 1. This is followed by Table 2, l is t ing the orche stral

works which do not include piano.

^Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Principles of Orchestration, t r an s . Ed w ar d

A gate (New York: Dover Pub licat ions, Inc. , 1964), pp . 30-31.


18/182

Tab le 1: Chronological Listing of the O rches tral W orks of Igor Strav insky

Containing Piano

Work

Date

L'Oiseau de Feu

Petrouchka

Le Rossignol /Le Chant du Rossignol

Suite No. 2 for Sm all Orch estra

Concerto for Piano and Wind

Instruments

Oedipus Rex

Quatre Etudes for Orchestre

Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra

Symphony of Psalms

Persephone

Scherzo a la Russe

Scenes de Ballet

Symphony in Three Movements

Greeting Prelude for Orchestra

Agon

Threni: id est Lam entationes

Jeremiae P rophetae

Movem ents F or Piano and

Orchestra

A Sermon, a Narrative, and a

Prayer

The Flood

Variations: Aldous Hu xley In

Memoriam

Cano n for Con cert Introduction

or Encore

Requiem Canticles

1909-1910 (revised 1919)

1911 (revised 1947)

1914-1917

1921

1924 (revised 1950)

1927

1914-1929 (revised 1952)

1929 (revised 1949)

1930 (revised 1948)

1934 (revised 1949)

1945

1945

1945

1955

1957

1958

1959

1961

1962

1964

1965

1966


19/182

Tab le 2: Chronological List ing of the O rche stral W orks of Igor Strav insky

Not Contain ing Piano

Work

Faun and Shepherdess, Op. 2

Symphony in E

Flat,

Op. 1

Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 3

Feu D'Artifice, Op. 4

Zvezdoliki (le Roi des E toiles)

Le Sacre Du Printemps

Bayka (Renard)

Suite No. 1 For Small Orchestra

Symphon ies of Wind Instruments

Pulcinella

Mavra

Apollo Musagetes

Le Baiser De La Fee

Concerto in D for Violin

Divertimen to (Suite of Baiser)

Jeu de cartes

Concerto in E flat (Dumbarton)

Symphony in C

Danses concertantes

Circus Polka

Four Norwegian Moods

Ode

Babel

Concerto in D

Orpheus

Canticum Sacrum

Abraham and Isaac

Date

1906

1905-1907

1907-1908

1908

1911-1912

1911-1913 (revised 1947)

1915-1916

1917-1925

1920 (revised 1945-1947)

1919-1920

1921-1922

1927-1928 (revised 1947)

1928 (revised 1950)

1931

1934 revised 1949)

1936

1937-1938

1939-1940

1941-1942

1942

1942

1943

1944

1946

1947

1955

1962-1963


20/182

Lim i ts of the Stud v

Although Stravinsky's early works were wri t ten for a standard sized or

enla rge d or che stra of the time, he began in the 1920s to exp erim ent with

di fferent com binat ions a nd groups of ins t ru m en ts ; th i s exper im entat ion would

con tinue thro ug ho ut the re st of his l ife. T hu s, m any of his orche stral w orks

contain non-s tand ard ins t rum enta t ion in one form or anoth er . Because of

this ,

l imitat ions were set to determine which works would be considered for the

pu rpo ses of thi s study. Ch am ber works, with one playe r to a pa rt , were

excluded. Th ese included:

Three Japanese Lyrics

of 1913 , w ritt en for high

voice an d ch am be r orc he stra co nsisting of two flutes, two clar ine ts, pian o, and

s t r ing quar t e t ; Ebony Concertoof1945,for solo cla rine t an d jaz z en sem ble; th e

Septet of 1953, for clar ine t in A, bassoon, h orn , piano, violin, viola, and

violoncello; and Introitus: T. S. Eliot In Memoriam , for m ale chorus, ha rp,

piano, two tam-tams, two t impani , solo viola, and solo double bass.

Only original works have been included in the study; orchestrat ions of

other composers ' music, such as Stravinsky's orchestrat ion of

Valse Brillante

in E Flat

by Frederic Chopin for Diaghilev's ballet

Les Sylphides

in 1909, we re

not considered. Tango, an orc he stratio n of an ear lier solo piano piece, is l isted

by some sources as having piano in the orchestrat ion, but this refers to a

version scored by Fel ix Guenther which was approved by Stravinsky;

Stra vins ky 's own orc hestra t ion of the work in 1953 did not include pian o.

Les

Noces

w as not included becau se i ts ins trum en tat io n of chorus, four pianos, and

perc ussio n does not allow for intera ct ion of the piano w ith any of th e sta nd ar d

sect ions of an orchestra.

The score for the opera

The Rake's Progress

lists pianoforte in th e

ins tnmientat ion , but th i s par t only appears as a so lo accompaniment in

rec i tat ive pa ssa ge s, nev er in com binat ion w ith the re st of the orch estra.

Moreover, the part is usual ly performed on harpsichord, as evidenced by this

reminiscence of Stravinsky's wife. Vera, about a performance of the opera in

Italy:


21/182

8

I thought, too, during the wait, about some of the echoes in the

opera from Igor's so-called private life; of how the card game

stem m ed from h is own fondness for cards, of how th e harpsichord

arpeggios imitate Igor's way of shuffling them, and of how the

staccato

of tha t instrument recalls his way of snapping them on

a table.

Also,

Robert Craft; commented on rehearsing

The Rake's Progress

in

1968: "The harpsichord is distingu ished by a no les s painfiil pitch discrepancy

. . . and the instrum ent is amplified to something near the level of the M ormon

Tabernacle organ a t triple /."^ Therefore, it seem s clear tha t Stra vinsky had

the harpsichord, and not the piano, in mind for this particular work.

Methodologv of the Studv

Scores of each of the twenty-two works cited in Table 1 have been

analyzed in term s of Stravinsky's treatmen t of the piano within the orchestral

textu re. In particular, the following areas will be discusse d.

Dou blings with other instrum ents. Piston specifies doubling as the

foremost reason for usin g piano in the orchestra, due to its percu ssive quality,

wh ich can then be imparted to any instrum ent in all registers. He further

states that the high register of the piano is especially effective in adding

brilliance to the upp er woodw ind sound.^ Stra vinsk y had very decided view s

on the subject of doubling, which he expressed during his series of lectures at

Harvard in the late 1930s:

In every case the doubling of parts weigh s down the m usic and v^

constitutes a peril that can be avoided only by proceeding with

infin ite tact. Su ch add itions call for a sub tle and delicate

/ / V

Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft;,

Themes and Conclusions

(Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1982), p. 56.

^Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft,

Retrospectives and C onclusions

(New

York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1969), p. 299.

^Piston, p. 341.


22/182

propor t ioning th a t it se lf presupposes the su res t of tas te s an d a

discr iminat ing cul ture .

It is often believed that power can be increased indefinitely by

m ul t ip ly ing the doubl ing of orchest ra l pa r t s -a belief tha t i s

com pletely false: thicke ning is not st ren gthe ning . In a ce rtain

m ea su re an d up to a certain point , doubling m ay give the i l lusion

of strength by effecting a reaction of a psychological order on the

l isten er . Th e se nsat ion of shock sim ulates th e effect of power an d

help s to esta bl ish a n il lusion of balanc e betwee n the sound ing

ton al m as se s. A good deal m ight be said in this connect ion abo ut

the balance of forces in the modem orchestra, a balance which is

m ore easi ly explained by our aura l hab i ts tha n i t is just if ied by

exactness of proportions.^^

Oc tave usa ge . Th e app ea ran ce (or lack) of octaves will be discussed in

each of th e works im der study. Strav insky himself said th a t octaves are

pec ul iar ly pianist ic. No other in str um en t produces them so well. ^^

P ian istic effects. Effects su ch as glissa ndi, tri l ls, arp egg iated figures,

a l ternat ing hand passages , and t remolo have been ident i f ied throughout the

twenty- two works .

Perc ussive effects . Pa ssa ge s in which the percussive na tu re of the p iano

is exploited are identified and discussed.

U se of ped als. Stra vins ky rarely indicated for the performer to use th e

da m pe r peda l , in ei the r the solo works or the orch estral work s. He once mad e

the com m ent th a t his chi ldhood piano teacher 's only idiosyncrasy as a teac her

was in forbidding me all use of pedals; I had to sustain with my fingers, l ike

an or ga ni s t - an omen, perha ps , as I have never been a pedal composer . ^ He

did, however, reveal a marked preference for the

una corda

pe da l, frequently

indicat ing that i t should be used.

^^Igor Stravinsky, Poetics of Music, t rans . Ar thur Knodel and Ingol f Dahl

(Cam bridge: H arv ard U nivers i ty Pre ss , 1947), pp .

130-131.

^^Stravinsky,

Themes and Conclusions,

p. 99.

^^Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft ,

Memories and Commentaries

(London:

F ab er a nd F ab er, 1960), pp . 25-26.


23/182

10

Solo pa ssa ge work. Pa ssa ge s in which the piano is t re ate d as a solo

ins t rument wiU be d iscussed .

Prop ort ion of piano usa ge to ent i re work. An ana lysis is given for each

work of the nu m be r of m eas ures contain ing p iano versu s the nu m be r of

measures in the ent i re work .

T re at m en t of rh yth m in piano usag e. In the discussion of each work,

com m ents ar e m ade rela t ive to the impor tance of the p iano par t in a rhythm ic

context .

A complete and detai led analysis of each work studied is contained in

th e appe nd ix. A table ha s been pre pare d for each work, showing specific

doublings, octave usage, pianistic effects, percussive effects, pedal usage, and

solo passage wo rk, and th e m easu re num ber(s) in which they appea r . B ecause

it would be impossible to discuss every instance of piano usage in any of the

works, certain examples wil l be presented which i l lustrate specif ic important

us ag es ; for a complete analy sis of piano usag e, refer to th e appe ndix . Major

trends within each of these categories wil l be discussed in Chapter V.


24/182

CHAPTER II

TH E EARLY W ORK S: 1909-1920

L'Oiseau de Feu

(Original 1910 version)

Stra vins ky 's ea rl iest works for orche stra, those wr i t ten before 1909, did

no t include pia no in the o rche strat ion, as can be seen in Table 2. His f irst

orc he stral w ork to include piano was his t ranscrip t ion of Fre deric Chopin 's

Valse Brillante in E flat M ajor, Op. 18,

for Sergei Diaghilev's ballet

Les

Sylphides in 1909. I t is impossible to say to w ha t extent the piano was ut i l ized

in this t ranscript ion for , according to Dominique-Rene de Lerma's guide to

publ icat ions of St ravinsky 's music , th i s ar rangement i s unpubl i shed and/or

lost.^ * The first original orchestral composition to include piano was

L'Oiseau

de Feu,

w ritt en from 1909 to 1910 for Diaghilev and his Ba llet Ru sse . The

score called for an extremely large orchestra of two piccolos, two flutes, two

oboes, English horn, three clar inets , bass clar inet , three bassoons,

cont rabassoon, four horns , three tnmipets , three t rombones , tuba, three

onstage t rumpets , two onstage tenor tubas , two onstage bass tubas , t impani ,

t r iang le , t am bou r ine, cym bals, bass dn m i , tam-tam , g lockenspiel , xylophone,

celes ta , thre e har ps , p iano, and the usual complement of s t r ings . St ravinsk y

once m ad e the com m ent th a t the orche stral body of The Firebird was

wastefiiUy la rge , bu t I was m ore proud of some of the orch estrat ion th a n of the

mus icitself. ^^

I t is highly possible that Stravinsky used the piano in these works for

Diaghi lev simply because i t was avai lable to him for the f i rst t ime; another

^*Dominique-Rene de Lerma and Thomas J. Ahrens, Igor Fedorovitch

Stravinsky, 1882-1971; A Practical Gu ide To Publications of His Music

(Kent,

Ohio: K en t St ate U nive rsi ty Pr es s, 1974), p . 119.


Expositions and Developm ents

(Berk eley: U niv ers ity of California P re ss , 1962), p. 13 1.

11


25/182

12

supposi t ion is that he was fol lowing the example of his composi t ion teacher,

Rimsky-Korsakov, whose views on the subject have already been mentioned.

Whatever the reason, the p iano p layed a very smal l and unimpor tant ro le in

St ra vin sk y's first u se s of i t , a t lea st in th e original score of L'Oiseau de Feu.

(This si tuat ion would change radical ly when Stravinsky, who had arranged a

sui te for concert performance in 1911, reo rche strate d the sui te in 1919 for a

great ly reduced orchestra, which wil l be discussed in depth later in this

cha pter .) O ut of 1,294 total me asu res , the piano only ap pe ars in twen ty-eight ,

as can be seen in Table 3 of the Appendix; in general, i t doubles the celesta

an d/or ha rp s, occasionally doub ling th e high wind s or full orc he stra . No solo

passages are given to the piano, and t f ie ent i re part seems superfluous.

Ins tea d, th e celesta is given a far more im po rtan t role, ap pe arin g frequently

in so lo and accompanimental passages .

Petrouchka

Stravinsky was to give the piano a major role in his next orchestral

wo rk, how eve r. After the success of

L'Oiseau de Feu,

he had al ready been

commissioned by Diaghilev to compose the music for Le Sacre du Printemps.

Sp eak ing of th a t t ime in his autobiography, he stated :

Before tackl ing the Sacre du Printemps, which would be a long

and difficult task, I wanted to refresh myself by composing an

orchestral piece in which the piano would play the most

i m p o r t a n t p a r t - a s o r t

ofKonzertstUck.

In composing the m usic,

I had in my mind a dist inct picture of a puppet , suddenly

endow ed with l ife, exa spe rat ing the pat ienc e of the orc hes tra w ith

diabol ical cascad es of arpeggios. The orches tra in tu rn re tal ia tes

w ith men acin g t r im ipe t bla sts . The outcome is a terr if ic noise

wh ich rea che s i ts climax and ends in the sorrowful an d que rulou s

collapse of th e poor pu pp et. H av ing finished thi s biz ar re piece,

I s t ruggled for hours, while walking beside the Lake of Geneva,

to find a t i t le which would express in a word the character of my

m usic and, consequen t ly, the perso nal i ty of this cre atu re.

On e day I lea pt for joy. I ha d indeed found my t i t le -

Petroushka, the imm ortal and un ha pp y hero of every fair in al l

co un tries . Soon aft;erwards Diaghileff cam e to visit . . . I pla ye d


26/182

13

him the piece I had just composed and which later became the

second scene

of Petroushka.^^

Diaghilev was extremely exci ted about Stravinsky's new piece and

convinced him to write a complete score for a new ballet uti l izing its ideas.

The resul t , of course, was Petrouchka, which prem iered in 1911 an d wa s

another resoimding success for Stravinsky and Diaghi lev 's Bal let Russe.

The work is divided into four parts; each part , except the first , is

prece ded by a cadence on the s nar e drum . The piano app ea rs in 539 of a total

of 1267 me as ur es , or ne arly one-half of the score, and is mo st prom inen t in th e

first part and the second part (which was the music first composed); Table 4

in the Appe ndix gives a complete l is t ing of usag e. In ma ny instan ces , i t

ap pe ars as a soloist , rep res en t ing Petro uch ka. At other t im es, i t doubles

var ious o ther ins tnm ien ts to create a sharpe r , br ighter sound. Figure 1

ill u st ra te s a t5T)ical dou bling with hig h wind s: piccolo, flute, an d oboe, from

ne ar the beg inning of the work . The p iano doubled wi th these ins t r um en ts

creates a more percussive at tack to each note, defining and enunciat ing the

sound . Th e doubling is exact in all respec ts: pi tch, ar t icula t ion, and dynam ics.

The piano spans three octaves; the piccolo and f lute double the highest note,

the oboe doubles the middle octave, and no instrument doubles the lowest

octave. Th e pa rt icu lar t imb re of each ins trum en t 's tone can be he ard in this

type of doubling, yet they all blend together to crea te a new t im bre . Th is

passage is also noteworthy for i ts rhythmic complexi ty of septuplets and

quintuplets in the main melodic l ine moving over a steady stream of quarter ,

e ighth , and s ix teenth notes .

Figure 2 shows a doubling in the lower register , with bass clar inet ,

bassoon, t impani , cel lo, and double bass (clar inets also double the r ight hand

no tes in the m iddle register) . Th is is not an exact doubling; note the four

^^Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography (New York: Simo n an d Sh us ter ,

1936), pp. 31-32.


27/182

14

^ < ; I 3 1 . J 1

MIT.)

Figure 1: Petrouchka, measures

26-31.

Copyright 1948 by Boosey &

H aw kes , Inc. Rep rinted by permission.

thirty-second notes which the piano plays in the measure before and the third

measure aft;er square 48 versus the triplet in all other parts-the piano plays

an e xtra B nat ur al . Also, the left-hand pa rt of the piano susta ins while all

other instruments except bassoon I release at square 48. This passage recurs

several times in slightly varied form throughout the work and provides a good

example of Stravinsky's fondness for shifting meters.


28/182

15

r iM .

a t la f fc^_=:

TVy>.ULni

M * 0

TrMk.l

^^^mm^'^^

Tl .

J>.

PIkae

TlaJ

T U . D

Tla .

'OaU*

mifmart.

Figure 2: Petrouchka, measures 226-232. Copyright 1948 by Boosey &

Haw kes, Inc. Reprinted by permission.


29/182

16

Th e begin ning of the Danse Russe is illustr ated in Figure 3. The piano

is doubled by nearly all of the winds, with trombones, harp, and strings

doubling certain beats for emphasis. This passages foreshadows Stravinsky's

growing interest in the wind soimd which would culminate in his Concertofor

Piano and Winds in 1924. The whiteness of th e m usic ha s often been

DANSE RUSSE

CU>.IJI

l BV

Figure 3: Petrouchka, measures 305-311. Cop yright 1948 by Boosey &

Hawkes, Inc. Reprinted by permission.


30/182

17

commented upon; no doubt the passage was inspired by the white keys on the

pian o an d th e abi l i ty of a pianis t 's han d to move rapidly up an d down the keys

in blocked chord s. Th e rep ea ted chords in the lef t ha nd a re not p art icu larly

pian ist ic in na tu re and are qu i te difficult to execute becau se of the speed

req uire d in ge t t ing the piano act ion to rep eat . Th is type of w ri t ing reflects

Stra vin sky 's growing percept ion of the piano as a percussion instr im ien t . Note

th a t every note played by the other instr um en ts is doubled by the p iano, except

for the bot tom note of the h ar p in the second, fourth, an d sixth m ea su res of the

example .

This passage appears again as a solo for piano in slightly altered form,

at rehearsal number 82. An unusual direct ion is given to the performer at this

point: /

subito left ped.

Th e left

(una corda)

pedal is typically used in very

soft pa ssa ge s whe re a m ore muffled sound is desired. Strav insky , however,

was specific in stating his desire for i t to be used in this and other forte

pa ssa ge s. Th e sl ight change in tone qual i ty which res ul ts was more to his

l iking. Th e fact th a t this wa s not a m ere m isprint is su bsta nt ia ted by a

com m ent from th e diary of Robert Craft , Stravinsk y's musical ass ista nt and

pro tege for the la st twenty-five ye ars of his l ife:

At the rehearsals [ in Caracas, from October 28 to November 3,

1962] I. S. tells the

Petrushka

pia nis t to open the l id all of th e

way, to use the left pedal only, to play forte and secco, and as I

have heard these direct ions a hundred t imes, I should record

them as definitive.^^

The second part of the score contains the original music which

Stravinsky f i rst composed and played for Diaghi lev, in which the piano is

t re ate d throug hou t as a so lo ins t ru m ent , represe nt ing Pet ro uch ka. The so-

cal led Pe trouch ka chord, the juxtap osi t ion of two major chords a t r i tone

ap ar t , can be seen in Figu re 4 , a t num ber 97 . This exam ple c lear ly shows th at

^' 'Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft ,

Dialogues and a Diary

(London: Faber

an d Fa ber , 1968), pp .

310-311.


31/182

18

*

,J f f . f f i* f 1

;.?r r

^

. ' ^

-^1 =-- r

v

(t * c

i 1 ' '

AAW T

PIo

(

)

t r V ^ _

J =

|i j

- '''^

-

i

i

>>

^

' ^

1*

' ^ =

k

^ "

-TT-

* t *

- j g = : ^

[ 1 1 1

^ - ^ ^ - ^ - ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Figure 4: Petrouchka, mea sures 466 -481. Copyright 1948 by Boosey &

H aw kes , Inc. Reprinted by permission.

the sound of this chord was derived by means of the black and white keys of

the piano. Throughout this passa ge, the left hand remains on the black keys

and the right hand on the white keys. Note that the pas sage beginning at

number 98 is a single note run, alternating between the hands, and at square

99 , becomes a rapid alternation between the hands on every other note.


32/182

19

Figure 5, taken fromthe third part, showsa very interesting typeof

doubling with rhythmic variations. Atsquare 150, three solo instruments:

flute, trumpet, and piano, play the same melodic phrase, but in differing time

valu es; the flute moves in eighth notes, the trumpet in sixteenth notes, and the

pianoinsixteenth note triplets. These instruments represent the three main

protagon ists of the ballet: the ballerina (flute), the blackamoor (trumpet), and

Laoto eaotabUa(tampo dlVaU e,J:W i

>iD^^

riu.Lii

atampo < > i . J l 1 i'Hi''i' pJ^ls 12 j^^j

T m

Clt>.LII

n t . i i i a l

^ ^

u.

L.J

uJ L

^ L, uJ U L^

Figure 5: Petrouchka, measures 737-747. Copyright 1948 by Boosey&

Haw kes, Inc. Reprinted by permission.


33/182

20

Pe t rou chk a (p iano) . In the th i rd mea sure af ter squa re 150, the t ru m pe t jo ins

th e f lute in playing the sam e rh5rthm, bu t the piano cont inues to play sixte enth

note t r iplets repeat ing at the octave, symbolizing the blackamoor 's gaining of

the bal ler ina's affect ions and her reject ion of Petrouchka.

The fourth and last part of the original 1911 score of Petrouchka

co ntain s very l i t t le w ri t ing for the piano. Stra vins ky corrected this deficiency

w he n he revise d the score in 1947, giving the piano a n equal ly prom inen t role

to th e othe r th re e par ts . The following exam ples are take n from th e revised

score.

A pa ssa ge of rapidly repe at ing f if ths al tern at in g between th e h an ds

occurs several t ime s in the fourth pa rt , as shown in Figure 6. This use of

repeated notes, again not part icularly pianist ic, is another foreshadowing of

Stravinsky's evolving style which would become so prominent in the works of

the 1920s. Th e ha rp doubles the notes of the piano in this exa m ple, bu t one

at a t ime.

Fig ure 7 i l lu stra tes y et anoth er foreshadowing of w ha t would become a

part of the neoclassical style of the 1920s, the use of diatonic scalar passages.

T he two h a n d s move in pa ralle l m otion a t th e inte rva l of a fifth. W hile no

in st ru m en t ex act ly doubles the notes of the piano, al l notes played in th e

pa ssa ge are containe d in the white key of C Major; the re are no chrom atic

al te ra t ion s. Th is is an exce l lent exam ple of the composi tional lang ua ge which

bec am e kno w n as pandiatonicism, wh ere the com binat ion of diatonic pa rts

resul ts in a type of stat ic harmonic act ivi ty.

At number 228, Stravinsky gives the piano a measured t remolo of two

full ch ords al ter na t in g betwe en th e han ds : a four note A major chord in second

inversion for the r ight hand and a f ive note G sharp half diminished seventh

chord in third inversio n for th e lef t ha nd . This cont inues for the ne xt thir ty -

seven me as ur es . I t is doubled, bu t neve r exact ly, by ho rns , t ru m pe t III ,

s t r ings , and harp on the second hal f of each beat , and by winds in measured

t remolo wi th var ia t ions . Sho r t so lo l ines in m any di fferent in s t ru m en ts weave


34/182

21

(Siol

nta.t .nj i t

Krti

Figure 6: Petrouchka, m eas ure s 972-977. Copyright 1948 by Boosey &

H aw kes , Inc. Rep rinted by permission.

in and ou t thro ug h the textu re. This passage is ano ther example of how

Stravinsky was able to create a feeling of static or unchanging harmony in a

pass age of music while sus taining interest.

Stra vins ky n ot only doubled the piano with other ins tru m en ts to achieve

a pa rtic ula r tone color, he sometimes experimented with differing articula tions


35/182

22

T r t i t t l l l l

l aBk

la .

I

Tla. It

'Ca l la

Figure 7: Petrouchka, m ea su res 1063-1067. Copy right 1948 by Boosey &

Hawkes, Inc. Reprinted by permission.


36/182

23

between instr um en ts. Figure 8 provides an example: the piano and clarinet

double the same sextuplet run in the same octave, but the clarinet is clearly

instru cted by the slur to play

legato,

whereas the piano's part is marked with

staccato an dleggiero. The piano's staccatos enun ciate each note of th e cla rinet,

and the overall effect is a unique one, for this occurs as the scuffle takes place

between the blackamoor and Petrouchka, resulting in the latter puppet 's

death. Pe trouc hka 's flight from his rival is represe nted in the piano by

THE SCUFFLE

Blackamoor and Petrousbka

^ S 2 ] kleoo ooMO J : too

Figure 8: Petrouchka, m ea su res 1188-1202. Copy right 1948 by Boosey &

H aw kes , Inc. Reprinted by permission.


37/182

24

al te rn at in g octave pa ssa ge s of vary ing leng th, ending with a gl issando doubled

by str ing s th a t signifies his falling to th e groim d. After his death, the piano

is not heard again .

Altho ugh th e wo rk wa s conceived as a type of piano concerto, an d the

piano is treated soloistically in several sections, i ts contributions to the score

in non-soloistic wa ys are extrem ely im po rtant . Stra vins ky obviously saw gre at

possibi l i t ies in i ts use as a doubling in stn m ie nt a nd a s a m ea ns of add ing new

color to his o rche strat ion. H e would cont inue to tu rn to the piano in m an y of

his new works .

After

Petrouchka,

Stra vins ky poured al l of his energy into

Le Sacre du

Printemps, whose pre m iere caused the famous r iots in Pa ris in 1913. The

score does not include piano in the orchestration and, therefore, does not fall

un de r the scope of this stud y. I t is possible th a t Strav insky did not w an t to

crea t e ano ther Petrouchka, and so m ay have intent ion al ly omit ted the piano.

Perhaps the piano just did not f i t into his tonal ideas for Le Sacre.

Le Chant du Rossis noi

In the fall of 1913, after the completion of

Le Sacre du Printemps,

Stravinsky returned to a work first begun even before the composition of

L'Oiseau de Feu.

H e ha d composed the first act of an opera entit le d

Le

Rossignol

in 1908, an d now set ab ou t com pleting th e work. H is com positional

style had changed dramatical ly in the previous four years, however, and Acts

2 an d 3 end ed up being a radical dep artu re from his original m usic. The

ea rl ier Act 1 did not contain piano in the orc hestra t ion, but th e new Acts 2 and

3 saw a ch ang e in orches trat ion w hich included the add i t ion of piano , aga in

s ignal ing St ravinsky 's growing in teres t in the p iano as an orchest ra l

ins t ru m en t . St rav insky w as aw are of the ext rem e dif ference between the o ld

and new music, and equal ly aware that he could never again wri te in the older

style; conseq uent ly, he w as nev er real ly satisfied w ith th e opera. Ye ars la ter ,

he would comment :


38/182

25

I can only a t t r ibu te the m usical sty le of the la ter a ct s- th e

augmented seconds , paral le l in tervals , pentatonic tunes ,

orchestral devices ( t remolos, muted brass, cadenzas, etc.) to the

great difficulty I experienced in returning to the opera at all after

five years, and especially after

Le Sacre du Printemps.^^

In 1917, he re ca st the mu sic of Acts 2 and 3 as a sympho nic poem and

later a bal le t , en t i t led Le Chant du Rossignol. Always exper im ent ing and

sea rch ing, Str av ins ky beg an a t this t ime to decrease the size of his orch estra

an d to t r ea t i t in f im dam ental ly ne w and different wa ys. As he would late r

s ta te in h is autobiography:

I ought to mention here a concert which had a certain

im por tanc e for me in view of my new orchestral expe rime nts. On

D ece m ber 6 a first pe rforma nce of Le Chant du Rossignol was

given a t Gen eva a t one of th e subs cription co ncerts of the

Orchest re de la Suisse Romande under the d i rect ion of Ernest

A nse rm et . I say new expe rimen t becau se, in this symph onic

poem , wri t t en for an o rche stra of ordinary size, I t re ate d the

lat ter more as a chamber orchest ra , and la id s t ress on the

concertante side, not only of the various solo in str um en ts, bu t also

gave this role to whole groups of ins tru m en ts. This orche stral

t reatment was well adapted to music ful l of cadenzas, vocal ises,

an d m elism ata of al l kinds , and in whichtutti were the exception.

I enjoyed the performance greatly, for the rendering was careful

and highly finished.^^

The piano is qui te prominent in Le Chant du Rossignol, app ear ing in

m ore th a n o ne -third of th e work, althou gh it is not used soloistically as often

as in

Petrouchka.

It is gene ral ly doubled by one or mo re other in str um en ts in

a va rie ty of different com binations , as is show n in Table 6 in the Ap pend ix.

The m ost common ins t ru m en ts doubled wi th p iano are the har p , the f lu te and

the piccolo; less frequently, the piano is doubled with brass or string

ins t ru m en ts . Gl i ssandi are frequent, as are t remolos p layed wi th a l tern at ing

ha nd s, bo th on single note s and on chords. Althoug h the re are some

^^Stravinsky,

Memories and Commentaries,

p. 131.

^^Stravinsky, An Autobiography, p. 84.


39/182

26

indicationsofsforzando, the piano is not used very much for percussive effects.

Pedal markings are occasional but rare; several times Stravinsky again calls

for use of theuna cordapedal in afortepassage w ith sforzando,as in Figure

9 below, just as he did in

Petrouchka.

Use of the damper, or right pedal, is

indicated by the sign forlaisser vibrer (let vibrate), which is a slur extending

from a note head, and/or the indication of

"Ped."

Both of these methods for

using the damper pedal can also be seen in Figure 9.

r B a H. 16312

Figure 9: Le Chant du Rossignol, measures 21-32. Cop)rright 1921 by

Edition R usse de Musique, printed by arrangement, Boosey Hawkes, Inc.

Reprinted by permission.


40/182

27

Figure 10 gives an example of a soloistic passage for piano, doubled by

first and second violins and viola. The pentatonic passage w as again probably

inspired by the black keys of the piano and is very reminiscent of passages

from Petrouchka. A solo trumpet echoes the passage in canon one measure

later. Again the piano is instructed to use the una cordapedal along with e

sempre poco sf (always a little sforzando).

Several times the piano doubles short melismatic rims of the flute,

sjnnbolizing the living nightingale, usually in septuplets. With the appearance

rrkkl

Figure 10: Le Chant du Rossignol, measu res 150-156. Copyright 1921 by

Edition R usse de Musique, printed by arrangement, Boosey Hawkes, Inc.



41/182

28

of the mechanical nightingale of the fairy tale, the piano assumes a more

static, mechanical role, playing a pianissimo tremolo in single notes a tenth

apart with alternating hands for eighteen measures.

The piano represents the retum of the living nightingale with flutters

and ru ns eith er in solo or doubling the flute or clarinet. It also ha s an

imp ortant solo ofadifferent type closer to the end of the work, given in Figure

11,

where a single c'" is repeated seventeen times while winds tremolo

n , iM .

f i f

OkOTi

CK U( l

cu,

UtiV

Bkk*

T - l l l

*-kin

c-a.

^

^

M

m

t o* ^ * . r ^ '

f r - i r - T '

Figure 11: Le

Chant du Rossignol,

m easures 460 -465 . Copyright 1921 by

Edition R usse de Musique, printed by arrangement, Boosey & Ha wk es, Inc.



42/182

29

un de rn ea th , very l ikely rep res en t ing the crying out of the bird in f instrat ion

and despai r .

Suite L'Oiseau de Feu

Just as the p iano became an impor tant component in St ravinsky 's

complet ion of

Le Rossignol

and Le

Chant du Rossignol,

so it wou ld become

m uch mo re imp or ta nt in h is reset t ing of the m usic f rom

L'Oiseau de Feu

in the

1919 or ch es tra l sui te. W hile th e original balle t score util ized th e pian o in only

twenty-eight measures, the revised sui te contained music for piano in 135 of

i ts 568 tota l m ea su res . The celesta was mu ch mo re pro m inen t in the original

score; in th e revise d 1919 su ite i t does not even app ea r. In fact, Le

Chant du

Rossignol would prove to be the la st score in which Strav insky used th e celesta

until Movements for Piano and Orchestra in 1955. Much of w hat wa s

original ly wri t ten for the celesta was given instead to the piano, indicat ing

bo th Stra vin sky 's d esire to scale down the size of his orche stra a nd th e g rowing

im po rtan ce of the piano in his orchestral concept .

In th e first section of the suite , th e piano is gen erally given rapid , single

note ru ns , often divided betw een the han ds . These are soloist ic in n at ur e and

can be read i ly discerned throu gh the textu re. Figu res 12 and 13 on the

following page s give two such examples. The melism a show n in Figure 12 wa s

original ly performe d on the celesta; on piano the f igure sou nds brighte r a nd

cleare r . Th is ru n is not doubled by any other ins tru m en t and probably depicts

th e fluttering w ings of th e firebird. Fig ure 13 shows an extrem ely active

pa ssa ge for piano an d w inds, in which no pa rts a re doubled, bu t piccolo, f lute

an d clar inet sh are the upw ard sweep wi th the p iano. Again , the p iano sound

clear ly cuts throu gh th e texture an d is so lo is tic in na tur e . The las t m eas ure

of th e exam ple (one m ea su re af ter squ are 18) shows an upw ard sweep on wh ite

keys in the r ight hand and on black keys in the lef t hand, showing again

Stravinsky's fascinat ion with this combined sound and i ts derivat ion.


43/182

30

P.l.gr.

Cor. Ingl.

(ob. l l . )

CornI

Figure 12: Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, 1919 reorchestration, measures

21-23.

Copyright by Edw in F. K alm us, printed by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Rep rinted by

permission.


44/182

31

r.ri|i| ^

Fl..

Figure 13: Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu,1919 reorchestration, measures 74-78.

Copy right by Edw in F. K alm us, printed by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Rep rinted by

permission.


45/182

32

Fig ure 14, ta ke n from the Infem al Dance, offers an excel lent exam ple

of how Stravinsky's concepts in orchestrat ion had changed in the ten years

between the original bal let score and the revision of 1919 from which the

ex am ple is ta ke n. In the o riginal, th e solo l ine is given to th e piccolo clarin et.

In the revised sui te, however, the f lute and piano are given the melodic l ine,

w ith viol in I pa rt ial ly joining in the second m ea sur e an d beyond. I t is not a n

exact doubUng, however, for every other note is displaced at the octave, with

th e f lute ta ki ng the highe r octave and the piano the lower. The diverging

octaves give each instnunent 's tone color more presence, while st i l l

maintaining the effect of a doubled solo l ine. Piano notes contain

laisser vibrer

a n d

sf sempre

indic atio ns. Xylophone, ha rp , an d piccolo double th e end of the

phrase for emphasis .

Whereas the beginning sect ions of the sui te ut i l ize the piano mainly in

single note ru ns divided betw een the ha nd s, the Infemal Dance exploits

an ot he r facet of pian o tec hn iqu e, th a t of octaves. In Fig ure 15, the pian o first

ha s a l te rna t ing octaves between the han ds , wi th the inner note repeat ing , and

th en bo th ha nd s in paral lel octaves. These octaves double with the f lute and

oboe in the high register and the horns in the lower register , and are in canon

wi th t rumpet and t rombone .

Another pianistic device used with great effect in this suite is the

gl issan do, wh ich app ea rs no fewer th an fourteen t imes in the work. Figu re 16

shows the beginning of a sect ion in which the piano executes six upward

gl issandi on the white keys while the harp executes gl issandi both up and

dow n on th e black key note s, creat ing a dazzl ing wh irl of soimd.

T he piano is doubled less often with th e string section. O ne exce llent

exa m ple is containe d in Fig ure 17, in which the r ight ha nd doubles the viol in

I and II notes, and the left hand doubles the viola, cello, and double bass notes;

al l s t r ings play

pizzicato

w ith th e exception of one chord.

Th e com plet ion of the revised sui te

of L'Oiseau de Feu

marked a tu rn ing

poin t in Stra vin sky 's composi tional style. As he entere d the 1920s, his


46/182

33

..Mi

n.ricc

Figure

14:

Sui^e cfe L 'Oiseaw cfe F ei/, m ea su res

230-233.

Copyright by Edw in

F .

K alm us, prin ted by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Reprinted by perm ission.

co nst ant expe rime ntation with the orch estra and concepts of sound would lead

him into w ha t would become known as the neoclassical m ovem ent.


47/182

Violc

p i u .

t atmyrtf

Figure 15: Suite de L'Oiseau de Feu, m easu res 270-273. Copyright by

Ed w in F. K alm us, printed by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Rep rinted by perm ission.


48/182

n.ricc

Coral

plaa

Figure 16:


m easu res 331-335. Copyright by

Ed win F . K alm us, printe d by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Rep rinted by perm ission.


49/182

36

Okal

Figure 17:


m easu res 398-404. Copyright by

Edw in F. K alm us, printe d by CPP/Belwin, Inc. Reprinted by permission.


50/182

CHAPTER II I

TH E MIDD LE PER IOD WO RKS: 1920-1955

As ca n be se en in th e revised scores of Le

Rossignol

and

Suite L'Oiseau

de Feu,

Str av ins ky w as moving tow ards an aesthe t ic which called for a sm aller

orch est ra , t reate d more in aconcertante manner. The piano was growing more

important as a part of this aesthet ic, as evidenced by i ts increasing number of

ap pe ar an ce s. Th e wo rks of the 1920s would reveal his qu est for new m ea ns

of express ion through var ied ins t rumental combinat ions .

A pivotal work of this t ime period is Les Noces (The Wedding), which

w as be gu n short ly a f ter th e complet ion of Le

Sacre du Printemps.

Forty yea rs

later , Stravinsky would recol lect :

I began the composi t ion of Les N oces in 1914 (a year before

Renard) in C lar en s. Th e m usic w as composed in sho rt score form

by 1917, but i t was not finished in full score until three months

before th e prem iere, which was six yea rs late r . No work of m ine

ha s undergone so m any ins t rum enta l metamorphoses . I

com pleted t he first tab lea u for an o rche stra of th e size of Le Sacre

du printemps,

an d th en decided to divide th e variou s

ins t rumental e lements-s t r ings , woodwinds , brass , percuss ion ,

keyboard (cimbalom, harpsichord, piano)-into groups and to keep

the se groups se pa rate on the stage. In st il l ano ther version I

sought to combine p ianolas wi th band s of ins t r um en ts th at

inclu de d sa xh orn s an d fli igelhoms. Th en one day in 1921, in

Garches, where I was l iving as the guest of Gabriel le Chanel , I

su dd en ly realize d th a t an o rch estra of four pianos would fulfill all

m y cond itions. It would be a t th e sam e tim e perfectly

homogeneous, perfectly impersonal, and perfectly mechanical.^

This statement is important not only because i t shows the evolut ion of

the orchest ra t ion for Les Noces, but also because i t ref lects Stravinsky's

percept ion of the piano as being impersonal and mechanical , which were

posi t ive a t t r ibu tes of the in s t m m en t in h is mind. Al though the final

in str um en ta t io n of four soloists , chorus , four pianos and pe rcussion does not

^Stravinsky, Expositions and Developments, p. 118.

37


51/182

38

const i tute an orchestral work for the purposes of this discussion,

Les Noces

s t il l m us t be m ent ioned in any s tudy of St ravinsky 's use and t re atm en t of the

piano.

Suite N o. 2 for Small Orchestra

In the period from 1914 to 1917, Stravinsky had wri t ten two sets of

p iano duets , en t i t led Three Easy Piecesan dFive Easy Pieces,so called bec aus e

one part in each had been wri t ten with Diaghi lev (who was not a pianist) in

m ind a s th e perform er. In th e early 1920s, he decided to set the se pieces for

orc he str a in the form of two suites. He did not reta in th e piano in any of the

pieces in Suite No. 1 (which actually was finished after the second suite), but

chose to us e pia no in two of the four pieces in Suite No. 2, which were set t ings

of the Three Easy Pieces and the last piece from Five Easy Pieces.

Th e opening m ea sur es of Marche, which begins

Suite No. 2,

are

con tained in F igure 18 on the following page. Imm ediately one can see the

radical change th a t has tak en p lace in St ravinsky 's orchest ra t ion . Al though

the four standard orchestral famil ies are al l present , their numbers have been

dras t ical ly red uced . The w inds are repre sen ted by two f lutes, one oboe, two B

flat cla rin ets , an d two bassoon s; the re is no piccolo, En glish ho rn, bas s clarin et,

or cont rabassoon, am ong others . Four ins t ru m en ts form th e bra ss component:

one each of horn , t rum pe t , t rombone, and tuba. The snare drum , bass dru m

and piano const i tute the percussion sect ion, and f inal ly, there is the usual

com plem ent of st r in gs . Not only is the scoring m uch thinn er, bu t the re a re few

tu t t i passag es; ins tea d , smal ler combinat ions of ins t r um en ts bante r back and

forth. In Fig ur e 18, notice how the piano is doubled by first and second violins

in the lower octave, an d bo th flutes in th e highe r octave. Th e ph ra se is also

doubled in the lower octave by a dovetaiUng of oboe and clarinet, giving the

oboe the m ore emp hat ic accented t r ip le t which begins the p hras e an d the more

mellow sounding clarinet the legato downward sweep at the end of the phrase.


52/182

39

S U I T E N ? 2

pour petit orchestre / fur kleines O rcnoster / for small orchestra

Droits d'cxccutlon reserves

AnffBknmg^rteki vorMtalten

Performing rights reserved

2 Flautl graiidl

Oboe

2 ClarinetU in Sit

2 Fagotti

Corno In Fa

Tromba in Do

Trombone

Tuba

Calsse clairc

Gran Cas.sa

Piano

Violino I

Viollno n

Viola

Violoncel lo

Contrabass o

I. MARCHE

Igor Strawinsky

(1882)

Fi gu re 18: M arche, from

Suite N o. 2 for Small Orchestra,

measures 1-4.

Co pyrigh t 1925 (renewed) by J. & W. Ch ester, Ltd. All rig hts for U nited

States and Canada controlled by G. Schirmer, Inc.

Fig ure 19 illus trate s num ber 4 of the Marche and is typical of the

w riting throu gho ut the mov emen t. In fact, the broken accompanim ental figure

in the piano part three measures after number 4 appears in nearly every

m ea su re of th e mov em ent. These notes are doubled throu gho ut by the tu ba,

snare dnma, bass drum, violin II, viola, violoncello, and double bass, but the


53/182

40

C.el .

Gr.C.

Piano

i

m

if fflji f mj))

\J - J - ^ H )

l y i J I W'U 1J

E . .

plzx.

Fi gu re 19: M arche, fromSuite No. 2 for Small Orchestra,measures 26-29.

Co pyrigh t 1925 (renew ed) by J. & W. Ch ester, Ltd. All rig hts for U nited


res ulti ng effect sounds very lightly and thinly orchestrated. Notice th at this

figure is also present at number 4

itself,

but relegated to the left hand, while

the right hand plays a two measure phrase doubled with flutes, oboe,

trom bon e, and violins. The notes in the right ha nd rep rese nt a composite of

th e othe r doubling ins tru m en ts, compressed to within an octave span . The

writing, especially the rapid diatonic triads, is reminiscent of Petrouchka.


54/182

41

Figure 20 shows the beginning of the fourth piece of the suite, "Galop."

Here, the piano is used in a fresh and novel way, stemming directly from

Stravinsky's perception of the piano as a percussion instrument. In the fourth

measure, the piano plays a cluster comprised of the bottom three keys on the

IV . G ALO P

Flauto piccolo

Flauto grande

Oboe

2 Clarinetti in La

2 Fagotti

Corno in Fb

in Do

Tromba

in La

Ti-ombono

Tuba

ClaLsse claii-e

Piatte

Grand Ca ssa

Piano

Violino I

\^olino II

Viola

Violoncello

Contrabasso

Figure 20: "Galop," fromSuite No. 2 for Sm all Orchestra, measures 1-5.

Copyright 1925 (renewed) by J. & W. Chester, Ltd. All rights for United



55/182

42

instrum ent, at the same time as a / / / bass drum crash. The combination of

the two instrum ents creates a sound which neither could produce alone. It is

a striking effect when heard in the context of the movement.

The last movement is scored much more thickly than the previous

movements, and the instruments are almost constantly performing tutti. A

typical page of the score is given as an example in Figure 21. All instrum ents

Figure 21: "Galop," fromSuite N o. 2 for Small Orchestra, measures 6-12.

Copyright 1925 (renewed) by J. & W. Ch ester, Ltd. All rights for United



56/182

43

ar e in play. The r ight ha nd of the piano is doubled by tm m p e t and t rombon e

a t one octave low er. T he flutes, oboe, clarin et, h o m , violins, an d viola play th e

same rhythm as the r ight hand, but on different pi tches, in what is a good

exa m ple of pan diato nicis m . Th e violoncello doubles the lef t han d of the piano

exact ly, while the double bass part plays the same pi tches but singly, in an

ascending and descending pat tern .

Throughout the work, the piano is used primari ly in a percussive

capaci ty , provid ing the s teady rhythmic dr ive which the music demands.

Although it frequently doubles the melodic l ine, i t does not appear as a solo

ins t ru m en t , bu t ra th er as an in tegral par t of the orchest ra t ion .

However , even though St ravinsky had used the p iano several t imes

already in his orchestrat ions, most notably in Le Chant du Rossignol and

Suite No. 2,

he sti l l seemed to perceive the piano primarily as a soloistic

in str um en t . Th e following comm ent from his autobiograph y, deal ing with the

composi t ion of L'Histoire du Soldat, is part icu larly reveal ing:

I knew only too well that so far as the music was concerned I

should hav e to be conten t with a very restr icted orc hestra . The

easiest solution would have been to use some such polyphonic

ins t ru m en t as the p iano or harm onium . The la t te r was out of the

qu estio n, chiefly beca use of i ts dyna m ic poverty, due to th e

com plete absence of accen ts. Tho ugh the piano has polyphonic

qual i t ies infini tely more varied, and offers many part icularly

dy na m ic possibili t ies, I ha d to avoid i t for two rea son s: eith er m y

score would have seemed l ike an arrangement for the piano, and

that would have given evidence of a certain lack of financial

means, which would not have been at al l in keeping with our

intent ions, or I should have had to use i t as a solo instrument ,

exp loiting every possibili ty of i ts tec hn iqu e. In othe r wo rds, I

should ha ve had to be specially careful about the pianism of my

score, and m ak e it into a vehicle of virtu osity , in order to justify

m y choice of m ediim i. So th er e wa s no thin g for i t b ut to decide

on a grou p of in str um en ts, a select ion which would include th e

m ost repre sen tat ive types , in t reble an d bass , of the ins t r um en tal

families . . . ^^

21

St rav insky , An Autobiography, pp . 71-72


57/182

44

This perception of the piano as a vehicle for virtuosity, coupled with his

concept ion of i t as a percussion instnmient , would resul t in the

Concerto for

Piano and Winds of 1924.


As al read y men t ioned, in the la te teens and ear ly 1920s St ravins ky was

exp er im ent ing wi th d iverse and sm al ler combinations of ins t rum en ts in h is

composi t ions.

Les Noces,

written for vocal soloists, chorus, four pianos, and

percussion in i ts final form, and

L'Histoire du Soldat,

written for clarinet,

bassoon, comet , t rombone, viol in, double-bass, percussion, and narrator , are

good exa m ples . Stra vin sky w as also becoming m ore inter este d in the sound

of wind ins tru m en ts s ep ara te from the orchestral s t r ing sect ion. In 1920, he

completed t^he

Symp honies of Wind Instruments,

dedicated to Claud e Debussy,

an d in 1923 he composed the Octet for Wind Instruments for flute, cl ar in et, two

bassoo ns , t ru m pe t in C, t rum pe t in A, t rombone and bass t rombo ne. TheOctet

was soon fol lowed by another composi t ion ut i l izing winds, as remembered by

Str av ins ky in his autobiograp hy: Having again used a wind ensem ble for

chamber mus ic in the

Octuor,

I later undertook the composition of my

Concerto, which, as regards color , is yet another combinat ion-that of piano

with a wind orchestra reinforced by double basses and timbals. ^^

Stravinsky began this new composi t ion before determining the

instrumentat ion; i t evolved only gradual ly into a concerto for piano and wind

ins t ru m en ts . Two sep ara te s ta te m en ts by St ravinsk y reveal the evolut ionary

process tha t t r ansp i red :

. . . at th e beginn ing of the com posit ion I did not see th a t i t would

ta k e th e form of a concerto for pian o an d orc he stra . Only

gradual ly , whi le a l ready composing, d id I unders tand that the

musical mater ia l could be used to most advantage in the p iano,

whose neat, clear sonority and pol5T)honic resources suited the

22

St rav insky , An Autobiography, p. 104.


58/182

45

dryn ess an d ne atn ess w hich I was seeking in the s t ructu re of the

music I had composed.^^

T he sh ort, crisp dan ce cha rac ter of th e Tocca ta [the first

mo v emen t ] ,

eng end ered by the percu ssion of the p iano, led to the

idea that a wind ensemble would su i t the p iano bet ter than any

oth er com binat ion. In contra st to the percussiven ess of the piano,

the winds prolong the piano's sounds as wel l as provide the

human element of respirat ion.^*

In the

Concerto,

S trav insk y's conception of the pia no as a percu ssion

in s t r um en t crys tall ized . The p iano i s t reate d throughout in a dry , detached

fashion, energizing and driving the rhythm in the f i rst and third movements

by means of cont inuous st reams of sixteenth notes in one or both hands.

Accents and

sforzandi

abo und , an d th e w riting is esse ntially non-lyric in style.

Pa ssa ge s of chordal octaves and octave run s a l tern ate w i th more cont rap untal

section s of two or th re e voices. In gen era l, the piano w riting calls to m ind the

continuo of th e eigh tee nth cen tury orchestra. He inrich Strobel , in discussing

th is work , commented:

The word *suivi ' in the original, indicating the solo piano's

do m ina t ing role, is not to be unde rstood, however, in the sense of

th e rom an tic vir tuoso concerto with effective sound pa ssag es, b ut

rather in that of a fluid, motor-like concertato style as found in

the concerti of Bach and Vivaldi.^^

Th e work begins w ith a slow introduct ion for winds, in dot ted r hy thm s,

rem inis ce nt of th e Fren ch O ver ture style of the Baroque period. Ye ars later ,

St rav ins ky w ould comm ent abou t his inten t ional use of this styl ist ic

convent ion:

Dot ted rhythms are character i s t ic e ighteenth-century rhythms.

My u se s of the m in . . . works of th a t period, such as the

^^era Stravinsky and Robert Craft,

Stravinsky in Pictures and Docum ents

(New York: Fa be r and Fa be r, 1978), p . 197.

^*Vera S trav insk y,

Pictures and Documents,

p. 252.

^^Heinrich Strobel,Stravinsky: Classic Hum anist, t ran s . H ans Rosenwald

(New York: M erl in Pre ss , 1955), p . 105.


59/182

46

introduct ion to my piano Concerto, are conscious styl ist ic

referenc es. I at te m pte d to bui ld a new m usic on eighte enth-

century classicism, using the constmctive principles of that

classicism (which I cannot define here) and even evoking it

styl ist ical ly by such means as dot ted rhythms.^^

Stra vin sk y's comp osi tions of this t im e, in which he used th e principles and

evoked th e styles of eigh teen th ce ntury classicism, are now commonly referred

to as th e neoclassical wo rks (al though pe rha ps neobaroque is more

appropr ia te) .

The piano enters for the f i rst t ime at a sudden change in tempo to

Allegro, wh ich is show n in Fig ure 22 on th e following pa ge . Th e w riting is

angular and percussive, with both hands playing in octaves; the r ight hand

p a rt also contains inne r notes. Eve ry note played by the orc hestra is contained

in the piano pa rt ; all in str um en ts are presen t , bu t the wri t ing is fragmented

so th a t each ins tru m en t plays only a few notes. Desp i te the l ightnes s of the

scoring, howe ver, th e overall effect is st il l th a t of an o rch estr al tu tt i , such a s

one might expect in a concerto from the Classical period, but with a much

clearer , c leaner tex ture .

As mentioned above, the chordal octave passages for piano al ternate

with more thinly scored contrapuntal passages such as the one contained in

Figure 23, shown on page 48. At number 8, the solo piano appears with oboe

and English hom in a passage similar to a baroque t r io sonata, with each

in st ru m e nt p laying a dist inct ly individual l ine. The piano pa rt i tself is in

three-voice cou nterpo int . In the fourth m ea su re after nu m be r 8, two horn s

enter , doubling the lef t hand octaves, bui lding the passage toward the cUmax

of th e first section. Th e section wh ich beg ins in th e sixth m ea su re after

n um be r 8 aga in shows the u se of fragm ented doubling to achieve the effect of

a tu t t i w ithou t overth ickenin g the tex ture . The f lute an d clarinet part ial ly


Conversations w ith Igor Stravinsky

(Be rkeley : U niv ers ity of California P re ss , 1980), p. 18.


60/182

47

A-Uepro

Js 104

Pier.

Fi. t.2

Ok. 1.2

C.I.

U . U l . 2 |

I

Piaio

1.2

Car.

3.4

1.2

Tr-kr

3.4

Tr - i i

2.3

Taka

Tinp.

C-B.

B.ftH.i87ee

Figure 22: Concertofor Piano and Wind Instruments, Mvt. I, measures 31-

36. Cop)nnght assigned 1947 to Boosey & Haw kes, Inc. Reprinted by

permission.


61/182

toeo,/^p f^c*/^P

fc

? , ;?? EW"^

I.

1.2

CI.

It 1.2 [

F.l

C-hg

Tr-kkt .2

Tr.K t

Figure 23:

Concerto

for Piano and W ind Instruments,Mvt. I, measures 50-

57. Copyright assigned 1947 to Boosey & Hawk es, Inc. Reprinted by