Stravinsky Festival – Soldier's Tale

Igor Stravinsky is considered by many to be one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century. No one else has left the same kind of impression on the history of modern music as he has. Best known and most popular are the great ballets, the Rite of Spring, the Firebird and Petrushka, which were commissioned by ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, artistic director of the Russian ballet company the Ballets Russes in Paris.

One key piece is the Soldier’s Tale, which premiered in autumn 1918 as World War I was entering its final phase. This sly and occasionally somewhat jazzy music is written for an unusually composed septet with violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone and percussion. Also featuring an unusual cast of instruments is his Octet from 1923, in which he approaches what would become his aesthetic norm for many years: Neoclassicism.  

Joakim Agnas has been section leader of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s trumpet section since 2003. He is also a composer and we will hear his Dance Suite.