Stravinsky’s Firebird set Paris aflame at its 1910 premiere, catapulting its composer to worldwide fame. Commissioned by Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev for his era-defining Ballets Russes it drew upon more than a dozen Russian folk characters to create an ultimate fairy tale, a story of princes, princess, and a magical firebird that was memorably realized in Disney’s Fantasia 2000. Rising star Stefan Jackiw opens with Britten’s riveting Violin Concerto, which the 25-year-old composer wrote amid budding romance and threatening war, and called “without question my best piece,” to that point. Learn more HERE.
