Klavier Festival Ruhr
zur deutschen Version English language selected Petruschka
Inside the score

Written by Tobias Bleek

Exploring the music

Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka (1910-11) is one of the masterpieces of modern music. On the following pages you will find a multimedia score that allows you to unveil the secrets of Stravinsky’s ballet and to explore interactively selected sections of the music. The interactive score is based on Stravinsky’s revised version, published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1947. The music was recorded by the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Sloane. You can find detailed information on the origin, plot, and various versions of Petrushka under the heading “History and context” Further information on the contents and operation of the interactive score can be found in the Introduction.

At St. Petersburg’s Shrovetide Fair
The events in Petrushka take place at the Shrovetide Fair in St. Petersburg. The ballet’s opening passage is a musical portrait of the fair’s bustle and hubbub. Here Stravinsky developed a new conception of musical form. 
Go to interactive score...
A modern view of “Old Russia”
In 
Petrushka, Stravinsky developed a modern musical language from a creative encounter with Russian folk music. An impressive example of his novel way of handling folk material occurs in the work’s opening passage. Go to interactive score...
The street musicians’ contest
Amidst the hubbub of the Shrovetide fair, two street musicians begin a musical contest. Stravinsky stages this scene as a collage, using musical means to express the jumble of sounds at the fair. 

Go to interactive score...
A magical transformation
Three puppets in a Shrovetide Fair stall are mysteriously brought to life. The magical sound of this passage thrilled the great French composer Claude Debussy. 
Go to interactive score...