‘Orchestre de Paris & Mäkelä’

The themes with which Stravinsky set music on track for the 20th century were far from familiar to audiences in Paris. He drew on Russian folklore for brutalism, magic and heroic courage. In the ballet Petrushka, the eponymous living puppet must conquer a cruel Moor and a tyrannical magician to win the love of the ballerina puppet. An ambiguous leitmotif accompanies the torn spirit of the main character on his quest. The carnivalesque tableaux of Petrushka make way for an expressive, primaeval force in Le Sacre du Printemps. The pagan rite of spring demands a human sacrifice. An extensive rhythm section keeps the ballet taut. The young conductor Klaus Mäkelä recently took the Orchestre de Paris to new heights with recordings of Stravinsky.