Ever since its 1920 premiere as an extravagant ballet with singers and set design by none other than Pablo Picasso, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella has lived many different and fascinating lives over the last century. From the offset, Stravinsky took Renaissance works and themes, weaving them into his intriguing ballet inspired by the commedia dell’arte. He himself then arranged his neoclassical masterpiece into a suite for chamber orchestra, but that was only the beginning.
Violinists Samuel Dushkin and Jascha Heifetz soon arranged it for violin and piano, followed by the famed cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. More versions followed, leading us at ensemble132 to create our own version (inspired in part by these many earlier renditions), both as our own contribution and as an homage to Pulcinella’s rich history of reinterpretation. We’re excited to share this piano quartet version in upcoming seasons, as we examine the reflections this piece casts on the different figures and eras in which it has continually reappeared.
Complete Program:
Joseph Haydn Piano Trio in A Major, Hob.XV:18 Igor Stravinsky/Sahun Hong "Pulcinella" Suite for piano quartet Antonín Dvořák Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 87
