Pulcinella Suite
Stravinsky extracted a purely instrumental suite from his ballet Pulcinella*** which was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Monteux, on 22 December 1922.
It has these eight movements:
Sinfonia
Serenata
Scherzino – Allegretto – Andantino
Tarantella
Toccata
Gavotta (con due variazioni)
Vivo (Duetto prior to revision)
Minuetto – Finale
The suite was revised in 1947 to correct printing errors, change metronome markings and rename part VII.
*** Pulcinella is a 21-section ballet by Igor Stravinsky with arias for soprano, tenor and bass vocal soloists, and two sung trios. It is based on the 18th-century play Quatre Polichinelles semblables, or Four similar Pulcinellas, revolving around a stock character from commedia dell'arte.
The work premiered at the Paris Opera on 15 May 1920 under the baton of Ernest Ansermet.
The central dancer, Léonide Massine, created both the libretto and the choreography, while Pablo Picasso designed the costumes and sets.
The ballet was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes.
A complete performance takes 35–40 minutes. Stravinsky revised the score in 1965.***
The original baroque music used by Igor Stravinsky for his ballet Pulcinella was originally attributed to Giovanni Pergolesi, as they were described as such in a Mr R. Bremner's original 1780 London publication. They were also arranged later by Hugo Riemann, and were again wrongly attributed to Giovanni Pergolesi.
As a note of explanation, it is likely that Pergolesi's name was applied to Gallo's compositions to enhance sales of the music (Pergolesi was a better known composer than Gallo)
However most of the original music is by Domenico Gallo (including the Finale of the suite),only one or two are by Giovanni Pergolesi (including the Menuetto)
The original music he used is as follows:
(links to both the original music and my arrangements)
- 1.Sinfonia (Overture) : Gallo Trio Sonata No.1 in G Mvt.1 (arranged wind quintet)
- 2.Serenata:Pergolesi Il flaminio act 1
- 3a Scherzino: Gallo Trio Sonata no 2 in Bb Mvt 1 (arranged wind quintet)
- 3b Allegretto: Gallo Trio Sonata no 2 in Bb Mvt III
- 3c Andantino: Gallo Trio Sonata No 8 in Eb Mvt I
- 4. Tarantella: Wassenaer Concerti Armonici No.2 in Bb Mvt.IV
- 5.Toccata: Monza Harpsichord Suite No 1
- 6.Gavotta con duo variazioni: Monza Harpsichord Suite no.3 in D (Mvt.3 Gavotte, var 1&4)
- 7.Vivo: Pergolesi 4th mvt sinfonia for cello and continuo
- 8a Minuetto: Pergolesi Opera Buffo: Lo frate 'nnamorato - Canzona di Don Pietro “Puplilette, fiammette d’amore”
- 8b Finale: Gallo Trio No 12 Mvt III Presto
I have arranged some of these original works for wind ensemble: you find find them here.
i have also arranged the complete work for wind dectet (available FREE as an example of my orchestration.)
As of today 15/10/2025 Stravinksy’s music is in copyright and will not enter public domain world wide till 2041.