Stravinsky, The Firebird Suite (1919): Ankara Kent Filarmoni Orkestrası; James Ross, conductor

Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird Suite (1919): Ankara Kent Filarmoni Orkestrası; James Ross, conductor
Introduction - The Firebird and her dance - Ronde des princesses (Khorovode) - Infernal Dance of King Kastchei - Berceuse - Final
The first performance of The Firebird at the Paris Opéra in 1910 transformed Igor Stravinsky, a previously almost unknown young composer, into a celebrity overnight. Yet if Diaghilev’s initial plans had worked, Stravinsky’s name would not have been on the bill. A more established Russian composer, Anatole Liadov, had been commissioned to write the score for The Firebird, but he had failed to deliver on time. Diaghilev, in St. Petersburg, happened to hear a remarkable brief piece for orchestra called Fireworks by one of Rimsky-Korsakov’s most talented pupils, and immediately took a risk by passing the commission to Stravinsky.
The Firebird succeeds in being both imaginative and compelling listening from beginning to end. The ballet scenario is drawn from Russian legend: The Firebird is a benevolent supernatural being who helps a young Czarevich to free and marry a princess enslaved to the evil King Kastchei. The 1919 suite, which comprises approximately half of the original ballet, starts with a nocturnal picture of Kastchei’s enchanted garden - conjured with an undulating chromatic figure in the ‘cellos and basses, a rhymthic figure for woodwinds, interrupted by a flutter of harmonics on the strings like flashes of light. After an expectant string tremolo, the woodwinds herald the Firebird’s entrance, followed by her dance.
The next number is a Russian round-dance for the captive princesses. The music eventually fades away, before a sudden fortissimo explodes from the whole orchestra. A jagged rhythmic figure on the horns introduces Kastchei, then trumpets in octaves hurl out a menacing theme. The most radical and original section of the score prefigures the Rite of Spring in rhythmic fury, dissonance and orchestral virtuosity. The dance reaches a massive conclusion, after which a short quiet transitional passage leads into the Berceuse (lullaby). With her magic powers and a bassoon solo, the Firebird casts Kastchei to sleep. The music sinks down to the quietest tremolo string chords before the horn introduces the finale and the Czarevich’s wedding to the liberated princess. The Firebird’s arrival at the celebration is celebrated by a sudden increase in tempo, leading into the final sequence of huge brass chords.
James Ross