Back in 1965 whilst taking Fine Arts at Goshen College with Professor Mary Oyer, I became fascinated by Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky. I had a vinyl recording of the orchestral version, and for the class, I undertook an analysis of the score. Later I heard a piano version and learned about the adaptation to piano. It is considered by many to be one of the most difficult pieces to play, and here is a clip of a portion of the piano version played by Yuja Wang:
Here is the complete multipart youtube compilation of the orchestra/ballet version. For me, one of the most intriguing parts of the score occurs precisely at 1:11 in Part IV - listen for the brass counter run - it repeats three more times and then the ensemble enlarges for the next four runs.
Amazing performance! Thanks for the enlightenment!
ReplyDeleteSteve - if you have some time, watch the complete ballet/orchestral version, some of which I added to the post.
ReplyDeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding the clips Dr. S. I enjoyed watching/listening to them one by one, then had fun playing them all at the same time. That sounded like our Indianapolis Symphony warming up before the concert master takes the stage for the tune-up. Am a fan of Stravinsky.
ReplyDeletePrimo - glad you enjoyed the added videos. Had to laugh at your playing them all at once - I have done that inadvertently but never thought to do it purposefully! Maybe you know this, but if you click on the 'music' tag, it will cluster all of the music posts; I do this now and then to listen to previously posted music videos.
ReplyDeleteDear Doug,
ReplyDeleteThis is delightful! I am pleased that you remember reflecting on
Petrushka. For you to remember that experience must mean that it
moved you ahead in understanding music.
I hope you are enjoying your teaching here. I am grateful that you could come so quickly at a difficult time.
Best wishes!
Mary