Stravinsky’s Firebird and Anna Clyne’s Woman of the Mountain

Pre-Concert Chat at 5:45 PM
Lawn Paver Bar

Anna Clyne

Woman of the Mountain
          Sun Valley Music Festival Co-Commission

Igor Stravinsky

Suite from The Firebird (1919 revision)

Stravinksy’s Firebird Suite, written to accompany Diaghilev’s ballet, blends the composer’s orchestral wizardry with Russian folk tunes. By turns shimmering and spooky, the music surges with rich color and atmosphere, unfolding with slow-burn momentum toward one of classical music’s most satisfying finales. Regarding Anna Clyne’s new work for orchestra—which the Music Festival co-commissioned—the composer offers this note: “Woman of the Mountain evokes the journey of an extraordinary woman in the throes of the natural world on a quest for love as she reaches a mountain’s summit.”

Alasdair’s take on the program:

It was hearing the huge thunderclap that launches the infernal dance in Stravinsky’s Firebird that made me realize that I wanted to devote my life to music.