Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony in C was conceived in Paris but completed in America in 1940, and is dedicated to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered in 1946, the Symphony in Three Movements also manifests different ways of moving. The Greeting Prelude was written as an eightieth birthday tribute to conductor Pierre Monteux. The other two pieces on the album reflect Stravinsky’s lifelong involvement with ballet. The Divertimento is taken from his ballet The Fairy’s Kiss. The Circus Polka was a commission from long-time collaborator George Balanchine, who had been asked by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to create a dance for elephants.
Stravinsky: Symphonies, Divertimento – BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis
