Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

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Igor Stravinsky, wrote two pieces for Arthur Rubinstein. The piece "Piano-Rag-Music" and after this brief composition, which was relatively rarely performed by the great pianist, Igor Stravinsky accomplished one of the most extraordinary masterworks of the century for the piano. In fact, two years later, he again dedicated the Trois mouvements de Petrouchka (1921) to Arthur Rubinstein. These three pieces are none other than a version for piano of three of the movements for the great ballet "Petrouchka" (1911), composed for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, in which the pianoforte has a leading role within the orchestra. The ballet in its turn had been derived from sketches for a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra which was never finished. In the history of music for piano the "Trois mouvements de Petrouchka” are indeed one of the most difficult compositions to play. Although they were written with great precision and kept close to the original version for orchestra they are performed today as a composition originally conceived purely for the piano and not a version for it, which would make little sense in an era of recorded music where everyone can hear the orchestral version anyway. In fact, this incredible piece of music has established itself firmly in the repertoire for piano, although unfortunately very few pianists are able to perform and carry it out, drawing out its multiple facets while giving it a complete and personal interpretation while remaining true to the original orchestral score at the same time.