- In 1932, Stravinsky took pieces from his ballet, Pulcinella (1919-20), and arranged them into a suite with the help of Samuel Dushkin (violin version) and Gregor Piatigorsky (cello version). The two versions for either violin and piano or cello and piano do differ slightly (see musical sections below).1
- Pulcinella is based on the Italian Commedia Dell’Arte character. For the music, Stravinsky used the little-known manuscripts attributed to Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Domenico Gallo.2
- Suite Italienne is organized into the following musical sections:
- Introduzione
- Serenata
- Aria (cello version only)
- Tarantella
- Gavotta con due Variazioni (violin version only)
- Scherzino (violin version only)
- Minuetto e Finale
- Interestingly, this was the second suite Stravinsky arranged using music from his ballet (the first was written in 1922 for chamber orchestra).3
Sources
- Stephen Walsh, “Stravinsky, Igor,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 3, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052818.
- Geoff Kuenning, “Stravinsky: ‘Pulcinella’ Suite,” Program Notes for Symphony of the Canyons, 1995, accessed November 3, 2022, https://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/ficus-members/geoff/prognotes/stravinsky/pulcinella.html.
- Stephen Walsh, “Stravinsky, Igor,” Grove Music Online.
Cut IDs
42747 18306