Feu d'artifice lors de la fête du lac d'Annecy 2005

''Feu d'artifice'', Op. 4 (''

Fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

'', russian: Фейерверк, ) is a composition by

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, written in 1908 and described by the composer as a "short orchestral fantasy." It usually takes less than four minutes to perform.

Composition

Stravinsky composed ''Feu d'artifice'' as a wedding present for

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

's daughter Nadezhda and Maximilian Steinberg, who had married a few days before her father's death. ''Feu d'artifice'' helped develop Stravinsky's reputation as a composer, although it is not considered representative of his mature work. The work has some hints of bi-tonality but is for the most part similar in style to that of Rimsky-Korsakov who, at the time, was his teacher and mentor. It has the form of a

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...

but is still labeled "orchestral fantasy" because of its short length. Alexander Siloti conducted the premiere on 6 February 1909. The accepted story is that Stravinsky got the commission from

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

to write ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's ...

'' (1910) in part because Diaghilev heard this piece of music, and was impressed with its orchestration. However, Diaghilev had already commissioned Stravinsky to orchestrate two pieces of Chopin (the ''Grande valse brillante'' and ''Nocturne in A flat'') for the ballet ''

Les Sylphides ''Les Sylphides'' () is a short, non-narrative ''ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk ...

''.

Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...

: 'Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions', Volume 1, p.579.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 3 clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 2 percussionists (cymbals, bass drum, triangle, and glockenspiel), 2 harps, celesta, and strings.

Selected recorded versions

Notable recordings of the fantasy include:

References

External links

* Compositions by Igor Stravinsky 1908 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub