Stravinsky at the circus
Synopsis
Late in 1941, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky was living in Hollywood \u2014 at 1260 N. Wetherly Drive, to be precise.
Notoriously unflappable, and eminently practical when it came to commissions, Stravinsky apparently did not even bat an eye when he received a phone call from choreographer Georges Balanchine with an offer from Barnum\u2019s Circus to write a short musical work for a ballet involving elephants. Again, to be precise, for Barnum\u2019s star elephant ballerina, Modoc, who would be accompanied by 50 other elephants and dancers, all in tutus.
\u201cFor what?\u201d Stravinsky said.
\u201cFor elephants,\u201d Balanchine said.
\u201cHow many?\u201d Stravinsky countered.
\u201cA lot,\u201d Balanchine replied.
\u201cHow old?\u201d Stravinsky asked.
\u201cYoung,\u201d Balanchine assured.
\u201dWell, if they\u2019re young, I accept,\u201d Stravinsky concluded.
Stravinsky\u2019s work, Circus Polka, had its debut at Madison Square Garden in New York by the Barnum Circus and was performed by what Stravinsky once called Barnum\u2019s \u201crespectable quadrupeds\u201d some 400 times. Stravinsky then arranged his Circus Polka for symphony orchestra and conducted the premiere of that version (minus the elephants) with the Boston Symphony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on today\u2019s date in 1944.
Music Played in Today's Program
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Circus Polka; London Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA 68865