Serenade (Stravinsky)


Serenade in A is a composition for solo piano by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was completed on September 9, 1925, in Vienna, and published by Boosey & Hawkes This work was composed as a result of his signing his first recording contract for Brunswick, so Stravinsky wrote the piece in a way that each movement would fit on one side of a 78 rpm gramophone record. It was dedicated to his wife.

Structure

This composition consists of four movements and should take 12 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows:
Even though the work is titled "Serenade in A", it is not actually in the key of A major nor in A minor. According to Eric White, A is not the "key" of the work, but rather the music radiates from and tends towards A as a "tonic pole". Thus, the first and the last chord of each movement contains the note A, either as the root, third, or fifth of a triad. According to Stravinsky, the piece was conceived "in imitation of the Nachtmusik of the eighteenth century, which was usually commissioned by patron princes for various festive occasions, and included, as did the suites, an indeterminate number of pieces". Therefore, the movement titles are meant to evoke the specific parts of such festive celebration.
From the pianist's perspective "Hymne" is related to Frédéric Chopin's Ballade No. 2 in F major, while the "Cadenza finala" reflects Stravinsky's Russian heritage.