Berceuse & Finale

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian modernist composer with many famed works from the twentieth century. In 1910. He composed his first major orchestral commission, The Firebird Suite, which is a ballet whose music draws from Russian folklore. The story of the ballet is centered around Prince Evan Tsarevich. He, with the help of the titular mythical Firebird, seeks to free thirteen princesses who have been imprisoned by the spells of an evil Sorcerer Koschei. The ballet concludes with Tsarevich destroying the egg that makes Koschei immortal and the liberation of the princesses. Throughout the ballet, Stravinksy uses different modal techniques and leitmotifs to represent his characters. Humans and mortals, such as Tsarevich, are represented by diatonic scales and tonal melodies. Mythical characters, such as the Firebird and Sorcerer, are represented by added dissonance and chromaticism.