Petrushka is a ballet composed by which composer?

Petrushka is a ballet composed by which composer?

• A. Prokofiev
• B. Handel
• C. Stravinsky
• D. Tchaikovsky

Answer: (C)

Petrushka is a collision of modern rhythm and colorful orchestration that marks Igor Stravinsky’s early brilliance. It was written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and choreographed by Michel Fokine, premiering in Paris in 1911. The music vividly depicts a puppet world at a fair, with restless pulse, bright orchestral colors, and bold harmonic language that push beyond late-Romantic conventions. This distinctive sound is a hallmark of Stravinsky’s work from this period, setting Petrushka apart from other composers of his time. The other names, while influential in their own right, belong to different eras or styles: Handel is from the Baroque period, known for operas and oratorios long before ballet as we know it; Tchaikovsky composed iconic ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, but Petrushka isn’t among his works; Prokofiev is a later contemporary who wrote ballets like Romeo and Juliet, not Petrushka.

Petrushka is a collision of modern rhythm and colorful orchestration that marks Igor Stravinsky’s early brilliance. It was written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and choreographed by Michel Fokine, premiering in Paris in 1911. The music vividly depicts a puppet world at a fair, with restless pulse, bright orchestral colors, and bold harmonic language that push beyond late-Romantic conventions. This distinctive sound is a hallmark of Stravinsky’s work from this period, setting Petrushka apart from other composers of his time. The other names, while influential in their own right, belong to different eras or styles: Handel is from the Baroque period, known for operas and oratorios long before ballet as we know it; Tchaikovsky composed iconic ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, but Petrushka isn’t among his works; Prokofiev is a later contemporary who wrote ballets like Romeo and Juliet, not Petrushka.