Scherzo à la russe (Stravinsky)

Scherzo à la russe is a 1944 composition by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was initially published by Chappell & Co. in 1945 and premiered in March 1946 by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself.^[1] It was later published by Boosey & Hawkes.^[2]

Composition

Stravinsky had been going through economical problems since he moved to America, partially because he lost the royalties from his works in Europe and had to compose more works to exploit them in America. The Scherzo à la russe was first conceived as a work for film use, as it was intended to be featured in The North Star. When the film project was aborted, Stravinsky decided to re-orchestrate it for Paul Whiteman Band.^[3] The only two conditions were: the piece had to be easy-listening and it had to fit on a 78 rpm disc.^[4] This version for jazz orchestra was premiered in 1944 by Blue Network but, according to Stravinsky scholar Eric Walter White, it didn't seem to be a success. Stravinsky decided to arrange it again in 1945 for symphony orchestra for it to be published and premiered in 1946 at San Francisco.

Analysis

The work takes approximately 4 minutes to perform. It is commonly analysed as follows:^[1][5]

• Main theme: Presented in G major in 2/4. The tune groups itself into four-bar phrases. One of the most remarkable aspects is the use of accents all along this first section: notes go in couples with no accent on the first note and an accent on the second, which is tied to the first. This effect recalls the wheezing sound patterns of accordions.
  • Trio I: Presented in B major. Features a canon between the piano and the harp, while three muted violins play rapid semiquavers. The melodic material, both here and in Trio II, derive from Russian themes extracted from Stravinsky's Sonata for Two Pianos.
• Main theme: First section repeated.
  • Trio II: This section is in ternary form. It can be divided as:
    • (A): Presented in C major. Saxophones become more relevant in this section, while the flute and a solo violin play rapid ascending scales.
    • (B): Presented in E-flat major. Fortisimo drum beats accompany the previous tune, which is now transposed and modified.
    • (A’): Same structure as (A)
• Main theme: First section repeated, which concludes the piece.

Instrumentation

Original jazz version

The symphony jazz orchestra proposed by Paul Whiteman was very atypical and a little unlike jazz: 6 saxophones, strings, winds, brass and percussion.^[6]

Symphony orchestra version

The second version was just an expanded version of the first. Here is a full list of the instruments featured in it:^[6]

Other arrangements

Apart from the symphony version completed in 1945, Stravinsky also wrote a third version for two pianos in 1954; however, it is not so commonly performed.^[5]

Notable recordings

Notable recordings of this composition include:

References