Ballet Composer Profile: Igor Stravinsky | Part 3
“The trick is to compose what one wants to compose and to get it commissioned afterward.”
Ballet Scores continued again…
As we come into the third and final part of Stravinsky’s ‘Ballet Composer Profile’, there is no doubt that Stravinsky composed a huge amount of ballets within his lifetime. He was such a prominent composer who was so committed to ballet in a way that few composers before him either chose to be, or had the opportunity to be. Nevertheless, it is his work that did much to transform and expand the scope of ballet and contemporary dance, as well as the composers and choreographers working within the artform.
Please read Part 1, where I discuss Stravinsky’s musical background as well as his first two ballets- The Firebird and Petrushka, and Part 2, where I outline The Rite of Spring, L’Histoire du Soldat, Pulcinella, Renard, Les Noces, and Apollo.
But now, let us dive into the remaining works that complete his long list of ballet compositions….
Le Baiser de la Fée (1928)
Duration: 44 minutes
Le Baiser de la Fée, also known as The Fairy’s Kiss, is a one act neoclassical ballet that is based on a short story by Hans Christian Andersen called Isjomfruen (The Ice Maiden). However, Stravinsky altered the story to give it a more positive outcome- ‘A fairy imprints her magic kiss on a [male] child at birth. Twenty years later ... she repeats the fatal kiss and carries him off to live in supreme happiness with her.’ As the work was composed in celebration of Tchaikovsky for the 35th anniversary of his death, Stravinsky’s newer version of the story was supposed to represent Tchaikovsky as the child who, when kissed by his Muse, had been bestowed with the ‘magical imprint’ that would inspire his music. Therefore, as an homage, Stravinsky worked many of Tchaikovsky’s early melodies into the score for The Fairy’s Kiss, such as ‘Danses Suisses’ and ‘Humoresque’ (Op.10), re-working and developing them.
The work was commissioned by Ida Rubinstein, who was a Russian dancer, actress, and patron of the arts, for her own company, of which Bronislava Nijinska was the choreographer. It was premiered in Paris on the 27th November 1928, with Stravinsky conducting the orchestra.
Jeu de Cartes (1937)
Duration: 25 minutes
Jeu de Cartes, or A Game of Cards, is a ballet in ‘three deals’. The libretto was conceived by Stravinsky himself, alongside Nikita Malayev, who was a friend of his son’s (Fyodor). The idea was to create a ballet inspired by a game of poker, with the protagonist being the perfidious Joker who believes he is unbeatable on account of his ability to morph into any card.
The ballet was had its premiere by the American Ballet on the 27th April, 1937, at the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Again the composer conducted the performance.
Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant (1942)
If you think that the Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant did not originally use real elephants, you’d be wrong.
In fact, this ballet was conceived by the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus, employing fifty elephants and fifty ballerinas. It was first offered to the choreographer George Balanchine, who immediately proposed that Stravinsky should be brought into compose the music.
Stravinsky was contacted on the 12th January 1942, and managed to negotiate a high fee. Although he was busy with other projects, he was able to complete a piano score by the 5th February, 1942. Therefore, for the performance, the piece was arranged for organ and concert band by David Raksin, and American composer who is now noted for his work in film and television.
The fifty elephants and fifty ballerinas were led by Modoc (a rather famous elephant) and Vera Zorina (Balanchine’s wife at the time), with all the elephants dressed in pink tutus. The production was premiered at Madison Square Gardens on the 9th April 1942, having been advertised as a ‘choreographic Tour de Force’. It was a huge success, resulting in an additional forty-two performances by the Ringling Brothers, however, travinsky never attended any of the shows.
Balanchine with Modoc on opening night, 1942
The corps de elephants ‘dancing’ with Modoc leading the way.
Scènes de Ballet (1944)
Duration: 16-18 minutes
Scènes de Ballet is a suite of dance moments, commissioned by Billy Rose (Broadway Producer) to be included in the revue titled The Seven Lively Arts. Although the commission was originally for the music to be around 15 minutes in length, by the time of the premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre, New York, on the 7th December, 1944, the music had been cut down significantly.
The music was deemed ‘a great success’ leading the Scènes de Ballet to be revived again and again by various choreographers, including Frederick Ashton in 1947/48, John Taras in 1972, and Christopher Wheeldon in 1999.
“Scènes de ballet is a period piece, a portrait of Broadway in the last years of the War. It is featherweight and sugared—my sweet tooth was not yet carious, then—but I will not deprecate it, not even the second Pantomime, and all of it is at least well made.”
Orpheus (1948)
Duration: 30 minutes
Orpheus is a neoclassical ballet in three tableaux, commissioned by the Ballet Society in 1947, which was founded by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein in 1946. George Balanchine was also the choreographer for this work, collaborating with Stravinsky to create it in Hollywood, California. The resulting score is now seen as one of Stravinsky’s most melodious.
The libretto is, of course, inspired by the ancient Greek hero, Orpheus, who was known for his incredible musical prowess and talent. Orpheus has long been associated with the lyre, a small Ancient Greek instrument that belongs to the lute-family of instruments. Therefore, often composers who write music inspired by Orpheus, employ the harp within the orchestra to capture the sound of the lyre, which according to Stravinsky’s score is a tradition he also chose to follow.
The ballet was premiered on the 28th April, 1948, at the City Centre of Music and Drama in New York, with sets and costumes designed by the American artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi . It was this premiere that led Morton Baum, the City Centre’s chairman to invite Balanchine and Kirstein to establish a resident company. Therefore, the Ballet Society was renamed New York City Ballet, now a company for which Balanchine would remain the ballet master of until his death in 1983. It was Noguchi’s interpretation of Orpheus’ lyre that was adopted as the official symbol of The New York City Ballet.
On the 11th October, 1948, Stravinsky conducted the NYCB’s first performance at the City Centre, which included Orpheus as part of the program.
Suzanne Farrell & Peter Martins in Agon
Agon (1957)
Duration: 22 minutes
Agon is the last of Stravinsky’s Greek ballets, and the last ballet he wrote in his lifetime, choreographed by George Balanchine.
The ballet has no story and is instead more abstract in its conception. It was during this period that Stravinsky was moving away from the more traditional diatonic tonality to the more contemporary twelve-tone tonality. Therefore, it seems that the number twelve is very much at the base of the concept for this ballet. For example, not only did Stravinsky structure the ballet in duodecimal form (four main sections each containing three separate dances), but also the work was created for twelve dancers. It could be said that the twelve dancers represented the twelve chromatic notes. Harmonically, not only did Stravinsky explore the twelve-tone row, but serial techniques and hexachords too. Although the ballet uses a full orchestra, each dance is scored for a different combination of instruments, and at no point does the orchestra perform tutti.
In regards to the choreography, within different movements the dancers interact in different sized groups, such as pairs, trios and quartets. Much of the inspiration for the choreography, particularly in certain movements, is drawn from 17th-century French court dances, such as the galliard, saraband, and bransle. There are only two dances out of the twelve in which all the dancers are cast, including: the Triple Pas-de-Quatre from Movement I, and the Four Trios from Movement IV.
The definition of the word ‘Agon’ is conflict, contest, or struggle, which likely alludes to the contrast of different forces within the work, such as the exploration of the inherently dissonant twelve-tone technique, the various formations of dancers on stage, and the changeable instruments scored for each dance. The ballet had its premiere on the 1st December, 1957, by the New York City Ballet at the City Centre of Music and Drama in New York.
Stravinsky’s life after Agon, consisted of lots of travelling and conducting, as well as collaborating with David Oppenheim to create a documentary film about himself. Due to long periods of travel, his health started to deteriorate with his case of polycythemia beginning to worsen. He continued to compose and conduct, however by the mid-late 60’s, he was struggling with his health even more, being hospitalised for stomach ulcers, thrombosis, and a potential stroke. In March 1971, he was hospitalised for ten days due to a case of pulmonary edema. Briefly he recovered, however the edema returned leading to Stravinsky’s death at the age of 88, on the 6th April, 1971.
Nevertheless, his music lives on and since then has continued to inspire and influence musicians and composers throughout the ensuing decades. His services to music and dance were astronomical. No-one has yet managed to replace him… and it is unlikely anyone ever will!
“The most important musical influence of the century.”
