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Igor Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet (1919) is a three-movement work
writing miniatures between Stravinsky’s major phases of Russian ballets and Neoclassicist
works, this composition is unfortunately swept under the rug often—even claimed by Eric
Walter White to be “not very important in itself”.1 For that reason, the challenge of approaching
this somewhat “neglected” work lies in the difficulty of figuring out how to both play and
understand it. Oddly enough, the three pieces are extremely popular in solo performance, yet not
many are willing to analyze it, perhaps due to several parts of the work that lack clear rational
analysis. As such, this suggests a fundamental question: why were the three pieces put together
in the first place, and were they meant to be played in this particular order?
In the few formal analyses of the work, many draw connections of the three pieces to
L’Histoire du Soldat Suite (The Soldier’s Tale) due to the proximity of composition dates (1918
vs. 1919) and their shared “jazz influences [that] twist melodic lines into...sinuous
chromaticisms”.2 Additionally, the three pieces were composed for the sponsor of The Soldier’s
Tale—Werner Reinhart (also an amateur clarinetist!)—as a “thank you” for his generosity.3
According to White, The Soldier’s Tale “demonstrated [Stravinsky’s] will and ability to discard
1
White, E. W. (1948). Stravinsky: A critical survey, 1882-1946 (pp. 84). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
2
White, Stravinsky: A critical survey, 8 3.
3
White, Stravinsky: A critical survey, 8 3.
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the Russian element in his music and embrace a more eclectic international idiom”, noting the
In search of context clues for the reasoning behind the order of the three pieces, I chose to
dive deeper into The Soldier’s Tale. What fascinated me was a striking similarity between Part
2’s Three Dances (Tango - Waltz - Ragtime)6 and the three pieces for clarinet. In the plot of the
three dances, the protagonist triumphantly marches into the chambers of a princess, who had
been extremely ill and could not be awoken. He starts to play a tune on solo violin, which
miraculously resurrects the princess during the tango; the piece starts with the violin yearning at
a lower register, which transitions into a peppy waltz (elaborated with ribbon-like clarinet
As a result, the story of the three dances spurred the idea of an underlying plotline in the
three pieces, suggesting “character development” of the clarinet solo. Therefore, through the
unity of form, affect, and pitch, the three pieces are, in fact, meant to be played together—to craft
Like the plotline of modern stories, the three pieces, when considered as a whole, have an
underlying development, cultivated by the overall growth in speed and energy. In terms of
musical parameters, the work progresses upwards by reaching higher registers in pitch, grows
louder in dynamic from “always soft” to “always loud”,8 and alludes to an increase in tempo with
4
White, E. W. (1979). Stravinsky, the composer and his works (pp. 67). Berkeley: University of California Press.
5
White, Stravinsky: A critical survey, 8 3.
6
O'Hare, Rachel. “Princess and Soldier- The 3 Dances- The Soldier's Tale.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Apr. 2012,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QBjKKdkvEs.
7
L'Histoire du soldat. (2019, March 08). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Histoire_du_soldat
8
Stravinsky, Igor. (1919). Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet. J. & W. Chester Retrieved March 17, 2019 from
https://imslp.org/wiki/3_Pieces_for_Solo_Clarinet_(Stravinsky%2C_Igor)
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faster metronome marks and smaller rhythmic subdivisions. In order to draw commonalities for
elements of consistency, the three pieces share an overall form of ABA’ with a coda, as well as
the use of untraditional pitch sets and modes—pentatonic scales, chromaticism, and
bitonality—that veer away from the constraints of traditional music and towards musical
freedom. As such, Stravinsky shows character development from more reserved in the first piece,
to free-flowing in the second, and finally, energetic and assertive in the final
freedom.
The first piece opens the story in a hazy, mysterious trance by exploiting “the lower of
[the A clarinet] in a mood of meditative tranquility”.9 The origin of the movement is told like
between sets at a jazz concert that Stravinsky attended. Understanding the context helps with
creating the ambiance that Stravinsky was going for, allowing performers to help themselves and
To capture this mood, Stravinsky uses the untraditional choice of the written F#
pentatonic pitch set (in concert A, F#-G#-B-C#-D#) in the clarinet’s lower register, which
produces a dark, woody, and rich color. By choosing the A clarinet in this piece, Stravinsky not
only gets an extra half step lower range to work with compared to its Bb counterpart, but he also
gets to take advantage of the A clarinet’s less focused, hollow timbre; the slight fuzziness of the
tone, in addition to the “sempre piano e molto tranquillo” (always soft and very tranquil) stylistic
9
White, Stravinsky, the composer and his works, 282.
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Piece 1 A B A’ Coda
Introduced in the lower part of the clarinet’s lower register, the opening begins with the
main motive (m.1-3) that sinks down to an F#, developing a tonal center with the pitch set. The
pentatonic scale is explored in leaps, giving the piece a feeling of uncertainty in its mystery.
Subsequent iterations of the motive reach lower notes of the instrument until it hits the lowest
note in the clarinet’s range (F in m.5, E in m.8), which can be interpreted as a figurative dive into
the darkness, going “deeper” into the moody and dreamy atmosphere. Section A ultimately leads
to a cadence-like resolution to D#, which is also found in the pentatonic pitch set.
Section B opens with a return to the highest note of the movement, G#, but doesn’t stay
here for long. A different descending motive (m.14) is introduced—each occurrence of the
motive is separated by breath marks and legatos. Continual repetition of the motives creates a
static feeling of getting stuck and lost in one’s thoughts, further contributing to the overall affect
of the piece. It’s also interesting to note in this section that the motive in measure 18-19 is one of
the few, in the first piece, that uses flat accidentals. In fact, Stravinsky almost entirely uses sharp
accidentals in this piece, which doesn’t have much significance when considered by itself, but
creates contrast and draws similarities with the accidental choices of the other pieces (the second
piece primarily uses flat accidentals, the third piece uses both flats and sharps).
Finally, the motives from A are reintroduced in A’, played with a familiar pensive
quality. At measure 28, there is a “fake-out ending” to the mysterious F# tonal center that almost
fades to nothingness. But, the real ending occurs in the coda at measure 29 at the first accent of
the piece (on D), suddenly played poco piu forte e poco piu mosso. The last Eb is held “lunga”,
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or longer than noted, with a fermata: one of the few flats in the entire piece foreshadows and
The second piece presents a new extroverted and free character, developing the plot by
contrasting the affect and pitch of the introspective first movement. Stravinsky introduces this in
the clarinet’s altissimo register, which sounds brighter and less distant, opening up the sound as
it leaves the lower register. The meterless, measureless movement unties the music from a strict
metric structure “in an improvisatory vein"; the lack of barring is not meant to suggest real jazz
improvisations, but “merely portraits” of them.10 Furthermore, it was difficult to extrapolate the
specific pitch set used in this piece due to the extensive chromaticism used in the fast-flowing
arpeggios. When played at the faster tempo, these arabesques just sound like a single continual
changing sound rather than distinct notes, which contributes to the perceived improvisation. The
concept of time is also lost in the inconsistent grouping of notes (i.e. groups of 3’s at 1; 7’s and
8’s at 5; 6’s at 6; 9’s at 7). Instead of fitting mathematically accurate beats in measures, notes are
rhythmically divided into longer phrases by breath marks. These breath-long phrases, along with
unusual rhythms, allowed Stravinsky to create “artificial” freedom within the ambiguity of time.
Piece 2 A B A’ Coda
The second piece begins with an “ebullient opening” filled with busy thematic
ribbon-like motives, fluttering up and down across the range of the entire instrument.11 To a
casual listener, they may sound like a fury of notes lacking apparent regularity. However, the
choice of pitches and rhythms are clearly intentional, in order to give the impression of
10
White, Stravinsky, the composer and his works, 282.
11
White, Stravinsky, the composer and his works, 282.
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adjacent notes—the natural note and its flatted form—through the use of A/Ab and B/Bb. The
clashing chromaticism drives the piece further “off-script”, compared to traditional classical
melodies, and adds to the improvisational nature of the movement. Abruptly, there is a halt in the
flow with long eighth notes and quarter notes (2), breaking the momentum of the ribbon-like
motives. These contrasting sections of driving forward and braking continues through section A,
The B section from “measure” 11 veers away from the material in A as the dynamic
drops to pianissimo. Often characterized by my teacher as “the hoppy section” because of its
large leaps and whimsical “blippy” appoggiaturas, the rhythms simplify to straight
eighths—some cut short to clipped sixteenths. The bouncy “blips” foreshadow the third piece,
but more significantly, depict the unpredictable direction that improvisation can lead the
Just like the first piece, section A’ reintroduces material from A, with unrestrained and
flashy runs, and concludes in a coda (20) to foreshadow subsequent material. The final motive is
played much slower, sombrer le son ritardando (poco), which means to sink and darken the
sound while slowing down—a marking that is frequently used in the third movement—to set up
a longer pause (for the performer to switch clarinets) and transition to new material.
The final piece concludes the story at a climax in the style of a scherzo, full of energy,
fun, and jazziness—contrasting the timid and improvisational nature of the previous movements.
During this transitional phase in composition, Stravinsky experimented with the idea—later
claimed to have extracted from Russian folk verse—of the “moveable accent, which could be
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played off against the natural accents of speech…to make yet an extra rhythmic tier”, and
became a central feature in this movement.12 Inspired by themes from the ragtime of The
Soldier’s Tale to explicitly pay homage to its generous sponsor, the third piece is played with
unrelenting energy, “forte d’un bout a l’autre from beginning to end”. This piece’s is found
exclusively in the upper register of the Bb clarinet, which has a more focused tone, to emphasize
the progression of the plotline. Instead of exclusively using flats or sharps, Stravinsky uses both
simultaneously in a motive, which creates an unusual sense of bimodality, though it is hard to tell
Piece 3 A B A’ Coda
Although the piece returns to metered music, the complexities of analysis continues with
unusual time signatures, apparent from section A of the piece. In order to smoothly transition out
of the lengthy break between the second and third piece, section A begins with unaccented notes
and legatos. However, almost everything that follow is performed with percussive
articulation—short, firm, and exact—to accentuate strong accents that guide the rapid
syncopation throughout the movement. Each “blip”, or sets of notes connected by a legato, often
begins with an accent and ends with a short, clipped staccato. Especially when played on weaker
beats, these strongly accented “blips” creates a jazzy feel in the piece (m. 8-9).
accent through different motives (series of accented sixteenths linked by legatos). In measure 29,
12
Walsh, S. (2001, January 01). Stravinsky, Igor. Grove Music Online. Ed. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2019, from
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052818.
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the third beat is continuously emphasized (written Db’s), with straight accents played on strong
beats. However, the straight accents are immediately followed by a contrasting measure 33,
where the accents are now syncopated, bringing back the jazzy feel of section A.
Just like the previous pieces, A’ quotes the theme of A, but written a fifth lower, perhaps
to dial back the energy prior to the explosive ending at the coda at measure 57, which is marked
louder than the rest of the piece, and written longer than the codas of the other two pieces. The
varying articulations—the accent, legato, and staccato—group the notes in a way that injects
continuous energy to the end, until the music halts at a fermata (m. 61). Inferences based on the
endings in the first two pieces sets up an expectation that the piece ends with holding a note to
niente. Like the ending of a good book, Stravinsky ends the piece unexpectedly, writing an
abrupt G-to-Bb blip, finishing with a lighthearted, fun, and conclusive final note.
Beyond the analysis of the work, it is also important to note its complexities in
performance. This composition is commonly found in standard audition repertoire, but despite its
deceivingly short length, there are considerable challenges in making this work sound simple,
fluid, and personal due to the rigidity of Stravinsky’s instructions. To convey certain affects in
each piece, he demands that “the breath marks, accents, and metronome marks indicated in the 3
pieces should be strictly adhered to”.13 The breath marks, scattered generously throughout the
three pieces, denote specific phrases as he intended them to be perceived. Breath is a very
“human” concept—it allows the performer to determine how pauses should be “played” (i.e.,
abruptly, gently)—but they can only be interpreted to the extent that Stravinsky allows within the
restricted structure of the pieces. Furthermore, Stravinsky explicitly outlines choices of barring
13
Stravinsky, Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet, IMSLP, pp. 1.
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(or lack of, in piece 2), meter, and articulation (prevalent in piece 3), to enforce specific
subdivisions of phrases, or a purposeful lack of them, to create distinct effects within the
continuous stream of music. Despite the fine granularity of details, the toughest part is to not
only juggle the subtleties simultaneously but also maintain the work’s intended affects and
plotline at a higher level. If executed well, the specific details become abstracted away, resulting
By developing a solo melodic line strong enough to stand without metrical and harmonic
accompaniment, Stravinsky shows how rich a miniature of three short pieces in one instrument
can be.14 Composed during a transitional period of Stravinsky’s stylistic choices, this work
illustrates efficiency in economical techniques, which coincides with his developing interest in
“great melodic freedom”.15 Due to the lack of sufficient academic critique of the piece, it was
sometimes difficult to form rational analysis, which led to a macroscopic analysis to determine
whether the three pieces were intended to be performed together. Some might argue that, because
each piece makes a distinct contribution in character to the overall narrative, there’s nothing
particularly wrong about playing them independently. But this argument could be applied to any
consistencies of form and unusual pitch sets, while showing progressive narrative development
in affect by using contrasting clarinet registers, dynamics, and tempos, Stravinsky arguably did
intend for the movements to be played together, in the specified order. Though implicit, the
patterning of the work is, in fact, cumulative: each piece builds up to the next, and together, craft
14
White, Stravinsky: A critical survey, 84.
15
White, Stravinsky: A critical survey, 84.
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Works Cited
L'Histoire du soldat. (2019, March 08). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Histoire_du_soldat
O'Hare, Rachel. “Princess and Soldier- The 3 Dances- The Soldier's Tale.” YouTube,
Stravinsky, Igor. (1919). Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet. J. & W. Chester Retrieved
Stravinsky, Igor. Three Pieces for Clarinet. Performance by Fredrik Fors. On Black Bird
https://open.spotify.com/album/44hjYerNTb6xk00
GdSUGi1?si=HPF_k3KVSaqgvZf27ruWQg.
Walsh, S. (2001, January 01). Stravinsky, Igor. Grove Music Online. Ed. Retrieved 21
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052818.
Publications.
White, E. W. (1979). Stravinsky, the composer and his works. Berkeley: University of
California Press.