Stravinsky originally wrote this Scherzo a la russe for jazz band but perhaps because it did not follow jazz traditions, was not particularly successful. This evening, we will hear his subsequent masterly arrangement for orchestra, which Stravinsky completed in 1945. Tango was the first work that Stravinsky wrote in its entirety in the USA, in 1940. Originally for piano, the first orchestral version was by Felix Guenther. Although Stravinsky endorsed it, in 1953 he decided to arrange it himself.... Its première in 1953 was conducted by Robert Craft. “The Firebird: what a fitting symbol and prophetic name for Stravinsky’s first première! This ballet, which was premièred at the Paris Opera in 1910, with its fairytale caprices of colour and sounds gave a slightly dangerous picture of Stravinsky, because it was made from largely appealing and impressive elements. Its refined subtlety, rich sonority, as well as its choice of theme, evokes the fabled East – his first great success was both seductive for the listeners and contained a strange misunderstanding about him, which was not to remain without consequences. Never mind: this beautiful bird exploded up from the frozen depths and from such unparalleled solitude!” (Francois Gachot, 1926) In his autobiography, My Life, Stravinsky wrote that he had the idea for The Rite of Spring while composing Firebird: in his imagination he saw a huge pagan folk ritual with two elders who sit kneeling as a young girl does a dance of death. She is then sacrificed to the God of Spring. It was premièred with choreography by Nijinsky in Paris in 1913, and it resulted in one of the most celebrated scandals in music and theatre history. The work calls for a vast array of instruments (five wood wind, eight horns, five trumpets etc.) and is in two sections: Adoration of the Earth and The Sacrifice.
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.