Often compared to Pulcinella, Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss adapts Tchaikovsky’s music to create a unique artistic vision. Stravinsky’s approach to the Tchaikovsky homage in this ballet could be grouped into three categories: overt quotation, hidden quotation, and imitation of Tchaikovsky’s overall mood. There are eighteen citations from Tchaikovsky. Some works like the Lullaby or the Feuillet d’album are adapted without much change from their original, while other pieces like Dumka are quoted in a less obvious manner, fragmented and hidden in the texture. Stravinsky is therefore trying to give an impression of Tchaikovsky’s style, rather than to signal a specific allusion. To enhance his homage, Stravinsky borrows Tchaikovsky’s subtle stylistic gestures, which form an intricate network of associations. As a result, Stravinsky is able to create three distinct layers in his ballet: his own music, his treatment of adapted material, and the synthesis of Tchaikovsky imitation and his own compositional language.

Works: Stravinsky: The Fairy’s Kiss (95–102).

Sources: Tchaikovsky: Feuillet d’album No. 3, Op. 19 (97), Au Village, Op. 40 (97), “The Harmonica Player” from Album pour enfants, Op. 39 (97), I bol’no i sladko, Op. 6, No. 3 (97), None but the Lonely Heart, Op. 6, No. 6 (98), Lullaby, Op. 54, No. 10 (97–100), Dumka, Op. 59 (98), Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (98), Overture to Cherevichki (98–100), Serenade, Op. 63 (97–100).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina