Stravinsky: Petrushka Inscape & Richard Scerbo

• Igor Strawinsky (1882-1971): Petrushka
• 1 Tableau I: The Shrovetide Fair 10:25
• 2 Tableau II. Petrushka's Room 04:59
• 3 Tableau III: The Moor's Room 07:32
• 4 Tableau IV: The Shrovetide Fair (toward evening) 14:30
• Total Runtime 37:26

Info for Stravinsky: Petrushka

Transcription is inherently an act of homage. It is an activity that—perhaps more than any other, short of composing the piece in the first place—allows one to get to know a work from the inside out. Often the compulsion to translate music into a different medium stems from the unlikelihood of being able to perform the original version; for those of us who neither play a standard orchestral instrument nor conduct an ensemble, a vast repertoire of the music we admire is inaccessible to us from the standpoint of direct participation in its realization. In the age before recorded media, the infrequency of live performance also made accessibility to the music-loving public an issue; composers and publishers increasingly responded with the preparation of piano duet and other “reductions” that could be read by amateurs for entertainment and educational purposes. Such arrangements were not always utilitarian, however.

Setting aside the large body of works that have been composed “in response” to the original (such as variation sets, operatic paraphrases, and fantasies), there is a subset of adaptations where ease of use is not the primary consideration, though it is certainly a calculation. Into this category fall the arrangements that aim to provide a performance version of a work that is both faithful to the original and suitable to a new medium. There are many issues at play, the most contentious of which may be the conceptual dissonance between fidelity to the letter or spirit of the original music. Adherents to the letter tend to privilege the “notes on the page”—in particular their point of attack—while those for whom the spirit of the work plays an important role are willing to take a creative leap when adapting a problematic passage. An analogue of this would be the difference between a literal and lyrical translation of poem from an unknown language—it is through the creative choices of the translator that we recognize the art of the original work.

For me, the most meaningful historical models for transcriptions that successfully balance these issues of fidelity are Franz Liszt’s solo piano versions of the orchestral and vocal works of Beethoven, Berlioz, Schubert and Wagner. Since the sound of a piano, unlike most orchestral instruments, decays after the initial attack, many thoughtful provisions must be made for the music to be successful in its new setting. I think of this as “orchestrating” for the piano— something as simple as managing a crescendo may require, for instance, the adjustment of accompanimental figures, the reinforcement of a melody, or the displacement of register to allow comprehensibility of an idea, or simply its execution. These types of considerations are always at the front of my mind in my own transcriptions, from the selective doubling of the opening trumpet solo in my version of Mahler’s fifth symphony for solo piano, to the transposition to C major (from B-flat) of Beethoven’s op. 106 Hammerklavier sonata in my transcription of that work for string quartet (a transposition that allowed more effective use of the open strings of the quartet).

Inscape Chamber Orchestra
Richard Scerbo, conductor

Inscape
Founded in 2004, Inscape performs concerts that aim to engage audiences and provide a compelling way to explore both standard and non-standard works. With its flexible roster of musicians, Inscape programs explore a variety of styles. Praised by The Washington Post for their “guts and musical sensitivity,” Inscape’s energetic concerts are well-established in the Washington DC region and continue to garner praise from audiences and critics alike.

Inscape has worked joyously and often with emerging American composers and has a commitment to presenting concerts featuring the music of our time. Since its inception, Inscape has commissioned over twenty works.

Inscape members regularly perform with the National, Philadelphia, Virginia, Richmond, and Delaware symphonies, the Washington Opera Orchestra, and are members of the premiere Washington service bands. Former Inscape performers are currently members of orchestras across the United States and abroad.

Inscape regularly performs as the Ensemble-in-Residence at the The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda, Maryland with additional performances at the National Gallery of Art, Strathmore Music Center, and other local and national venues. Inscape records exclusively for Sono Luminus.

Richard Scerbo
In 2004, Artistic Director Richard Scerbo founded Inscape with the intent of introducing audiences to diverse chamber and ensemble repertoire. This unique brand of programming has made Inscape one of the most exciting ensembles in the Washington Metropolitan area. Under Mr. Scerbo’s leadership, Inscape has commissioned and premiered numerous new works. In 2012, Mr. Scerbo conducted members of Inscape in a performance of Dominick Argento’s opera A Water Bird Talk for the composer as part of a month-long festival celebrating his music at the University of Maryland. In 2013, he leads Inscape in multiple performances at the National Gallery of Art, including a program highlighting the music of the Ballets Russes featuring Igor Stravinsky’s Renard and Manual de Falla’s El corregidor y la molinera.

Mr. Scerbo co-founded his first orchestra, The Philharmonia Ensemble, in 2000 with violinist Dale Barltrop while studying at the University of Maryland. As Music Director, he led the orchestra in a series of diverse and exciting programs that included collaborations with artists such as pianist Rita Sloan, soprano Carmen Balthrop, and the Prism Brass Quintet. In 2003, he made his operatic debut conducting Dominick Argento’s A Water Bird Talk with The Philharmonia Ensemble and G.F. Handel’s Xerxes with the Maryland Opera Studio. That same year he conducted Igor Stravinsky’s L'Histoire du soldat in a fully staged production at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Mr. Scerbo helped launch the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra (Maryland) in 2003 when he was invited to conduct their inaugural concert, and returned again in 2004 to conduct their season opening concert.

Mr. Scerbo is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he studied conducting with James Ross and bassoon with Daniel Matsukawa, Sue Heineman, and Linda Harwell. He has attended conducting programs in Austria and the Czech Republic working both with the International Festival Orchestra, Kromeriz, and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic. He has also been guided in his studies by classes with Leonard Slatkin, Heinz Fricke, Gustav Meier, and with Johannes Schlaefli at the Musikhochschule Zurich.

In addition to his work with Inscape, Mr. Scerbo is the Associate Artistic Director and General Manager of the National Orchestral Institute, a training program for orchestra musicians on the threshold of their professional careers. He serves concurrently as Assistant Director for Artistic Planning and Operations at the University of Maryland School of Music.

Booklet for Stravinsky: Petrushka