Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird

 

Igor Feodorovich Stravinsky was the third of four children of a famous singer of the Russian Imperial Opera and of a mother to whom "he only felt duties", according to his own confession. He never felt comfortable in the company of his brothers, so little Igor had to find a note of joviality in an overwhelming childhood whose only joy seemed to come from the care of his nurse, whom he would love and respect all his life, to the point that when she died, he wept for her more than he did for his own mother.

A musician... or a lawyer
Fortunately, the family's musical evenings brought a fruitful breath of life and encouraged his passion for music. At age 9, he began receiving his first piano lessons, and at 11 he was dazzled by attending the opera for the first time. Shortly after, he attended the premiere of Tchaikovsky's Pathetic Symphony, and this time, he was enchanted. At the same time, he was composing his first works. Everything was apparently going well for the young Igor to make music a career, but the ominous fate of young Russian musical promises stood before him and he had to begin studying law at the age of eighteen.

The maestro Nicolai
The only thing that took him away from juridical destiny was having made acquaintance with the composer Nicolai Rimski-Kórsakov who, despite frowning at his first works, finally received him at his home for three years to teach him the trade, explaining everything concerning the musical forms and their language, and supporting him in the orchestration of his own piano scores. The maestro Nicolai, perhaps unintentionally, thus became the only musician from whom Stravinsky later admitted having learned anything.

Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971)

Diaghilev
The year 1908 already sum several scores to his credit, applauded by the public and critics. The only thing missing is a bit of luck and this comes hand in hand with a concert where two of his works are performed and which is attended by an attentive spectator, Sergei Diaghilev, creator of the Ballets Russes that are all the rage in Paris at that time. Diaghilev did not delay in asking the author to orchestrate Chopin's music for a planned future ballet to be called The Sylphides.

The Firebird
Igor is happier than a clam. Even so, he does not imagine that the celebrity is around the corner and that he is going to conquer it overnight. Indeed, at the end of the summer of 1909, he received a telegram from Diaghilev commissioning him to write the score for the ballet The Firebird, scheduled for the following season of the Ballets Russes. Despite the short term granted, Igor completed the work on time, which premiered on June 25 of that year at the Paris Opera, not without some setbacks. The frenetic rhythm of the music puzzled some dancers, to the extent that the famous Anna Pavlova refused to dance "such atrocities", being replaced by Tamara Karsavina (pictured).

The tout Paris was immediately seduced by Stravinsky's music as well as by the costumes and novel sets of the staging. The sparkling and charming music of the 28-year-old young master would greatly influence the choreographic work, revitalizing an art that seemed exhausted from so much pas de deux. The Firebird will kill them forever, taking the tutus with him in passing.

Listening "with new ears"
The rendition, as a suite for orchestra, is by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez, including the last scenes: Infernal Dance, Berceuse and Finale (the complete ballet lasts nearly fifty minutes).
One final word: it is not easy to distinguish in this music tunes that can be hummed, but since it has already turned one hundred years old, I think it is time to make an effort to listen to it "with new ears", abandoning the sound and harmonics schemes from the 19th century and earlier.