Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

[1] In the fall of 1910, Diaghilev came to visit Stravinsky, who at that time was living in Lausanne, Switzerland, expecting to hear the beginning of The Rite of Spring, but instead was greeted with Petrushka.

The full score was completed on 11 May 1911, and on the following 13 June Petrushka was performed by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, under the baton of Pierre Monteux.

He was not trying to reproduce the sound of the orchestra, but instead wished to compose a score which would be essentially pianistic even though its musical material was drawn directly from the ballet.

Stravinsky also wanted to create a work which would encourage pianists to play his music, but it should be one in which they could display their technique, an objective he amply achieved.

Trois mouvements de Petrouchka reflects the composer's intentions and, unsurprisingly, it is renowned for its notorious technical and musical difficulties.