The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

The Firebird ballet, premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris on 25 June 1910 under Gabriel Pierné, was the work that catapulted the twenty-seven-year-old Stravinsky to international fame overnight. He subsequently distilled the score into three orchestral suites; the compact 1919 suite in six movements is the most performed and the one that best encapsulates the ballet's arc from the supernatural glitter of the Firebird's dance through the sinister Infernal Dance of Kashchei's subjects to the luminous, broad-bowed final Berceuse and triumphant Finale. The orchestration, brilliant and precise, draws on a smaller ensemble than the 1910 original yet loses nothing of the score's iridescent colour — the muted strings and celesta of the Berceuse remain among the most haunting passages in all of Stravinsky. The suite established the composer's mastery of orchestral storytelling and stands as a cornerstone of the twentieth-century symphonic repertoire.