Igor Stravinsky was a monumental composer who brought an essential liveliness to classical music in the 20th century. Petrushka is his second ballet composition for the famed Ballets Russes in Paris, performed in 1911. A friend recently gave me this album, as performed by Bernard Haitinik and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and I cannot begin to explain how exciting this music is. Despite not having the visual elements of a ballet, the music itself tells an amazing story. Tragic chaos, light hearted flickers of energetic dances, and colorful euphoria adorn this album with life. At times, the spacing in the music feels just as loud as the actual notes being played, which sounds wildly stupid I know, but as I was working and listening along, that became a consistent thought. There is a Miles Davis quote about how the notes you don't play are just as important as the ones you do - a little corny, but still. Stravinsky's music is a master of emotional roller coasters, up, down, up, down. In a single song, instruments bounce across vivid spectrums of thematic human storytelling. While Petrushka is often referred to as a tragedy, the comedic moments of typically folky homages cannot be overlooked either.
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