Stravinsky – The Firebird Suite, Tchaikovsky – Romeo and Juliet

The Firebird Suite 1919 Version
Commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, The Firebird was Igor Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) first piece for the Ballets Russes company. Hailed as a success when it was premiered in Paris in 1910, the work instantly thrust Stravinsky, still unknown at the time, into ranks of the most famous Western composers. Stravinsky himself conducted the piece on numerous occasions. 

Romeo and Juliet Overture 3rd Version
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1849-1893), the first modern Russian composer to receive worldwide recognition, began this work at the age of 29 at the yrging of his seions Mily Balakirev. It was premiered the following year. The chamring melody, tone-color of the brilliant orchestration, intensely emotional expression, and delicate structure combine to realize a level of remarkable perfection comparable to that of Tchaikovsky’s later masterpieces.

‘Polonaise’ from Act 3 of Eugene Onegin
The piece of dance music, origination in Poland, is part of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin (composed in 1877 and 1878), which was based on a novel in verse by Russia’s greatest poet Alexander Pushkin.