Laughing with Prokofiev, Stravinsky & Haydn

Laughing with Prokofiev, Stravinsky & Haydn

• Sergei Prokofiev: Classical Symphony
• Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
• Joseph Haydn: Symphony no. 60 Il Distrato (the  absent minded man)

These three pieces, rarely if ever played together, share the use of parody and pastiche (a term in music that describes taking music of a different time period and writing it in a style not of that period.)

Prokofiev, for instance, begins with a Haydnesqe tune, then abruptly switches keys. Haydn did this one time, in Symphony no. 60, with the same abrupt modulation. Haydn did it to portray his subject as an absent-minded man who forgot what key he was in. Haydn’s symphony is a pastiche of baroque styles, but it sounds remarkably modern. So you have Prokofiev writing in the style of Haydn, and Haydn essentially previewing Prokofiev and the music he would write two centuries later.

Stravinsky’s Pulcinella uses18th century music for a ballet. The notes are the same, but Stravinsky changes the chords and orchestration so it sounds like Stravinsky.