In Spirit of it being Wednesday and having so much to do this upcoming weekend, a piece by Stravinsky seems to be the best way of coping at the moment. Normally Stravinsky isn't a composer I'd listen to when trying to "mellow" out, but this piece in particular achieves that status.

The Firebird originally was composed in 1910 as Ballet. Stravinsky later set the parts for orchestra in concert performance. There are three arrangements, one done in 1911, 1919 and a later one in 1945. Whilst the 1919 one is probably the most widespread and adhered to when listening, the 1945 one perhaps contains the most content from the original ballet.

It is a rather ambitious piece. One of my professors at University remarked on the difficulties of the suite, including its complex rhythms and elided harmony and overall intensity it requires to perform. Nonetheless it is a remarkable work.

The video I have attached below is more so for the music itself than what is provided by Disney in terms of visual accompaniment. The segment was the the Finale (suiting) to Fantasia 2000, a movie I saw a couple of weeks ago and loved. It provides a little controversy as many argue the visual representation accompanying the music isn't what Stravinsky had originally intended the piece to portray. The aforementioned topic was also up for dispute in the original Fantasia back in 1940 which contained the "Rite of Spring" ballet Stravinsky wrote, and it was set to the theory of evolution (though we all know it as the "dinosaur" segment).

But in comparison to artists, how often do the intent of our works portray itself in the eyes of the audience? Nonetheless, enjoy the video.



I've also found a nifty solo piano arrangement for it. The one below is of the Finale but the rest of the suite is also available. I'm always cautious of orchestral arrangements for any instrument as it loses the real sense of the piece. Elements like sound color, tone and intensity are often hard duplicated by a piano when it's mimicking an orchestra, but the performer plays it well.



I was originally going to save this for Friday, for the symphonic update but I figured I'd save that for a Tchaikovsky piece I've adored for awhile.