Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky ： The Firebird

Stravinsky’s The Firebird is a ballet score celebrated for its sharply etched rhythms, vivid sense of color, and bold contrasts between stillness and intense exhilaration. As the scenes unfold, the music moves through mysterious atmospheres, dance-like vitality, tense development, and a liberating conclusion, continually changing its character. On the piano, it is important to clarify the roles of melody and accompaniment while organizing the often wide-ranging, polyphonic writing, balancing the driving force of its percussive rhythms with the coloristic quality of soft dynamics. By keeping the character of each scene in mind and shaping sudden changes of dynamics and tempo without exaggeration, performers can convey the work’s dramatic structure within the larger flow.