Utah Symphony

Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drums, xylophone, tambourine, triangle, suspended cymbal, harp, piano, strings

Duration: 5 minutes.

THE COMPOSER – IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) – Stravinsky settled in West Hollywood in 1941, having fled Europe for America, a place he considered “still orderly” in comparison to France and Russia. His rudimentary grasp of English and lack of familiarity with the American musical landscape made his first few California years a challenge. Many unsuccessful projects mark this period including attempts at jazz, a Broadway dance number, at least one popular song and a few film scores.  

THE MUSIC – It was one of the abandoned movie ventures that lead to the creation of Scherzo à la russe. Originally designed for a war film with a Russian setting, the Scherzo sounds as though it were actually composed to be part of Petrushka with its playfully folk-infused character. Stravinsky saw an opportunity to resurrect the piece when he received a commission from the famous Paul Whiteman Band for some “symphonic jazz” to be heard on a 1944 radio performance. The arrangement Stravinsky designed for Whiteman’s unique ensemble of 6 saxophones, 8 strings and assorted other winds, brass and percussion is indeed masterful but, in truth, has very little actual jazz in it. After the broadcast Stravinsky, still eager to find the right setting for his fun little Scherzo, created the full orchestra version in 1945 that has proven the most effective with audiences. Stravinsky himself led the 1946 premiere of this iteration in San Francisco and though the work might not belong on the first page of Stravinsky’s catalogue, it is a charming example of his brighter wartime efforts, of which so few have a regular presence on symphony stages these days. It is illustrative that Stravinsky’s willingness to take on such varied “commercial” projects in America did not include any degradation of his personal artistic standards. The craft and genius were nearly always present, regardless of how far afield he tried to range.                    

THE WORLD – The Philippines gained its independence in 1946 and Italy shed its monarchy to become a republic. The verdicts of the first Nuremberg Trials were read in October. 1946 also saw the film premiere of It’s a Wonderful Life.

THE CONNECTION – Scherzo à la russe was last performed by the Utah Symphony on the Masterworks series of the 1980-81 season. Robert Henderson was on the podium.

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubles piccolo), 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, strings

Duration: 34 minutes in four movements.

THE COMPOSER – IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) – While still very much a student in 1905, Stravinsky was given encouragement by his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov to begin work on a piece for full orchestra, the young man’s first foray beyond the piano. Russia was in the beginning stages of a failed revolution that year following the embarrassing conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War. Stravinsky was arrested once during a student demonstration and held for several hours, a chilling experience that he never forgot.  

THE MUSIC – The Symphony in Eb was to be Stravinsky’s first official opus number but the work shows as much of Rimsky-Korsakov’s hand as his own. As work progressed, Stravinsky consulted with the old master often for advice and the result displays more of the younger man’s ability to assimilate creatively than simply create. Not merely a pat homage to his teacher however, the Symphony No. 1 channels the full spirit of the Russian high romantic era. In addition to Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky can be heard, as can Glazunov. There are also elements of Strauss in the score, not to mention the ever-present influence of Wagner, a difficult thing for any fledgling composer of the time to ignore. All of this referencing might lead the listener to wonder, “Where is Stravinsky himself in all of this?” If not obvious in the skeletal and muscular make-up of the piece, his budding voice is hidden in the connective tissues that bind the whole. Some of the transitions and irregular phrases seem strange at first glance but, with the benefit of our distant scholarly perspective, make perfect sense as seeds of his future individualism. The gift of time and detailed study also allow us to hear the masterworks that where still to come in 1905 – a bit of Firebird here, a hint of Petrushka there. The Symphony in Eb is indeed the music of major composer before his prime, but its unabashed youthful energy makes it significant beyond its “first” status.                      

THE WORLD – Elsewhere in 1905, Norway declared its independence from Sweden, Franklin Delano Roosevelt married his 5th cousin (once removed) Eleanor Roosevelt and Novocain was introduced by German chemist Alfred Einhorn.

Suites Nos. 1 and 2 for Small Orchestra

Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubles piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, timpani, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, piano, strings.

Duration: 6 minutes in four movements (No. 1) and 7 minutes in four movements (No. 2).

THE COMPOSER – IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) – Stravinsky spent the years immediately following The Rite of Spring (1914-1920) exiled in Switzerland. The War had necessitated a temporary pause in the Paris operations of the Ballet Russes, the composer's primary source of income but he remained productive. He concentrated mainly on works for smaller ensembles and used the time wisely to further refine his compositional voice and delve more deeply into the language and folk heritage of his homeland.

THE MUSIC – The two Suites for Small Orchestra were orchestrated in 1921 and 1925 but date originally from the Swiss period. The source material was from the two little-studied sets of piano duets Stravinsky wrote as "teaching pieces" for young musicians. Three Easy Pieces was completed in 1915 and each short movement includes an affectionate dedication to a colleague (composers Alfredo Casella and Erik Satie as well as Ballet Russes impresario Serge Diaghilev) which indicates the composer's desire to also entertain adults with his delightful miniatures. The companion Five Easy Pieces (1917) were designed specifically for the education of Stravinsky's two older children with simple melodies that were to be played by the youngsters and more difficult accompaniments meant for skilled hands, presumably the composer's. It is tempting to view these eight duets as little more than the dashed-off curiosities of an extremely fertile musical mind, but closer scrutiny reveals much about what Stravinsky had become and would become as a composer. Beyond the obvious charm, wit and winning "personalization" of the included dance forms, what is offered here (particularly in the orchestrated versions) is a premonition of Stravinsky's approaching Neo-Classical period. The leanness of the instrumentation, the infectious rhythmic drive and the always perfect instinct for dramatic timing – each a hallmark of the coming years – are all present in the music of the Suites. More than mere caricatures, these eight "Easy Pieces" are vintage Stravinsky, and nothing less.

THE WORLD – 1921 saw the death of legendary tenor Enrico Caruso but also the birth of future legendary tenor Mario Lanza. In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby and The New Yorker magazine released its first issue.

THE CONNECTION – These concerts mark the Utah Symphony premieres of both Suites for Small Orchestra.

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)

Instrumentation: piccolo, 3 flutes (3rd doubles piccolo), alto flute, 4 oboes (4th doubles English horn), English horn, Eb clarinet, 3 clarinets (2nd doubles bass clarinet), bass clarinet, 4 bassoons (4th doubles contrabassoon), contrabassoon, 8 horns (7th and 8th double Wagner tuba), 5 trumpets, bass trumpet, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, 2 timpani, bass drum, tamtam, triangle, tambourine, guiro, cymbals, crotales, strings.

Duration: 33 minutes in two parts (with a short pause).


THE COMPOSER – By the second decade of the 20th Century, Stravinsky was a star. Two huge successes with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe – Firebird and Petrushka – had his name on the tips of every tongue in Paris and even elicited a bit of respectful envy from Claude Debussy. These were heady times for the 28 year old Russian and his audience, who waited with collectively held breath to see what would follow in 1913.

THE MUSIC – So much has already been written about the riot that erupted in the audience during the premiere of The Rite of Spring that it can be tempting to avoid the subject altogether now. Is the music famous because of its infamous debut or does it merit its place on the topmost shelf of music history based on the brilliantly groundbreaking new language from which it was created? Certainly, both. After all, the riot did happen and it was the result of many factors. In addition to the shocking nature of the score, there was much for the artistically conservative factions of the audience to deride in the costumes, the choreography and the pagan subject matter. To be fair, once the protests (among them satirical calls for doctor and even a dentist) and the counter-protests (such as the suggestion by composer Florent Schmitt that the society ladies near him “shut up”) took hold, the music became essentially inaudible over the din. Critical success would follow in later performances and the tumult of the premiere was never repeated. The Rite of Spring may well be the most important and influential work of the 20th century. By 1929 the New York Times proclaimed it as significant to its time “as Beethoven’s Ninth is to the 19th century.” In one stroke of compositional genius, Stravinsky turned every aspect of compositional creativity on its head and changed the course of musical thought forever.

THE WORLD – 1913 was a year of civil war in Mexico and the assassination of King George I in Greece. The United States began parcel post service that year and New York’s Grand Central Terminal was opened in February.

THE CONNECTION – The Rite of Spring is part of the regular repertory of the Utah Symphony, with no less than ten Masterworks performances since 1955. The most recent concerts were in 2007, under Keith Lockhart.

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)

THE COMPOSER – Stravinsky’s long and productive life is easily separated today into distinct phases or periods. The clarity with which contemporary scholarship can identify these evolutionary shifts speaks to a certain genius in the composer for self re-invention and an almost willful sense of historical timing. In 1908, Stravinsky was nearing the end of his pupil days under Rimsky-Korsakov (an ending hastened by the master’s death) and poised for his first great leap.     

THE MUSIC – The importance of Scherzo Fantastique for the young Stravinsky was not so much in what it was but rather what it did. In a performance which also included his Fireworks, Stravinsky was able to win the ear of Serge Diaghilev, who was in need of a composer for his budding Ballet Russe project. The first significant result of their artistic interaction would be nothing less than The Firebird, a work which set Stravinsky on the path to lasting international stardom. Scherzo Fantastique itself owed much to the music of the French impressionists and uses as its programmatic source a literary work by the Symbolist (and Debussy muse) Maurice Maeterlinck entitled La vie des abeilles (The Life of the Bee). The future Stravinsky is subtly present in the music with harmonies that are, in his own words to Rimsky-Korsakov, alternately “fierce, like a toothache” and “agreeable, like cocaine.” Though the Scherzo was Stravinsky’s first independent, non-academic orchestral work, his teacher’s touches are still evident in the orchestration and the magical, “fantastic” qualities of the musical story-telling. Rimsky-Korsakov certainly heard portions of the work and spoke of it fondly with his friends, but he never heard it performed in concert. It is difficult to know what the master might have ultimately found in his star pupil’s fledgling effort, but we do know what Diaghilev saw. The daring chance he took on such an unknown and unproven 26-year-old changed the course of 20th century orchestral history.                                 

THE WORLD – 1908 was the year of the first airplane passenger and the founding of the Boy Scouts in Britain. Also, first heard in 1908 was the now traditional baseball song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

THE CONNECTION – Utah Symphony regularly performs the works of Igor Stravinsky, but these concerts represent the Masterworks premiere of Scherzo Fantastique.

by Jeff Counts