Igor STRAVINSKY: Ragtime for Eleven Instruments

Written for 11 instruments (2 violins, viola, double bass, flute, clarinet, horn, cornet, trombone, cimbalom and percussion), its first performance was in a piano reduction played by Stravinsky. The cimbalom was a beloved instrument from Stravinsky’s childhood. Its distinct metallic sound places Stravinsky’s Ragtime very much in Europe, rather than being an American derivative. For Stravinsky, the sound of the instrument was akin to that of the balalaika and he created the ensemble around the instrument’s ‘whorehouse-piano sonority.’