Inspired by some Russian folk tales from Afanasyev's collection, The Soldier's Tale was composed in 1918 while Stravinsky was in Morges, Switzerland, where he had taken refuge in 1914 to escape the First World War and the October Revolution that would overthrow the Tsarist regime in Russia in 1917. According to his autobiography, Chronicles of My Life , this work was conceived as a popular spectacle, to be recited, played, and danced ,  similar to those organized by traveling performers who traveled from city to city with limited means. For this reason, the instrumental lineup is reduced compared to the large orchestral mass of The Rite of Spring  to seven performers who represent all the timbres of the orchestra, belonging to the main orchestral families in the upper registers: the clarinet and bassoon for the woodwinds, violin and double bass for the strings, cornet and trombone for the brass, and a drum kit for the percussion. These instruments are used in a rather original way, being placed in contrast with each other thanks to the exploitation and exaltation of their differences in pitch and timbre in a writing that, in some aspects, recalls the typical sound of jazz.

Daniele Marchese

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Sep 24, 2026

Notes at the Museum · Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana

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