Although of Russian birth and heritage, Stravinsky achieved his important early successes as a composer working with an organization in Paris, the Ballets Russes. Receiving commissions from Sergey Dyagilev, he wrote music for three great ballets, L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), Petrouchka, and Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). Spanning only the brief period from 1910 to 1913, these three works demonstrate a rapid evolution in Stravinsky's style: whereas L'oiseau de feu still has strong ties to the Nineteenth Century, Le sacre is the work of a fully mature, and ultimately revolutionary, composer. The rhythmic innovation in Le sacre du printemps is perhaps its most striking characteristic, but the piece also breaks new ground harmonically. Stravinsky, along with a few of his contemporaries, particularly Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), recognized that new organizational approaches would be able to assist the composer in establishing musical order in the face of potential tonal chaos.
Stravinsky's path was to develop a style which emphasized symmetry, balance, and relative emotional detachment, as had been done in the late Eighteenth Century by Haydn, Mozart, and other composers of the "classical" period. At the same time, Stravinsky retained his interest in harmonies and rhythms that were characteristic only of his own period, infusing his otherwise classical-sounding works with distinctively "modern" elements. The resulting style, "neo-classicism," dominated Stravinsky's work for most of his life. He never again wrote for an orchestra the size of Le sacre du printemps, and he consistently strove for lean sonic textures, with all voices clearly audible.
In 1919, on another commission from Dyagilev, Stravinsky began work on a ballet based on Italian Baroque melodies, attributed at the time to Giovanni Pergolesi (1710-1736). (More recent scholarship has revealed that at least some of the originals are by composers other than Pergolesi.) Stravinsky was reluctant to take on the project at first, but he grew attached to the melodies, and was encouraged by the fact that Pablo Picasso had agreed to create the ballet's decor and costumes. The story for this project, Pulcinella, concerns an attractive young man who disguises himself in order to avoid attack from jealous rival suitors. Stravinsky completed the ballet in 1920, scoring it for a chamber orchestra and three vocal soloists. Two years later, he adapted most of the music for a concert suite, removing the voices (replacing their melodic lines with instruments, when necessary) and deleting some sections. As one of the clearest examples of Stravinsky's neo-classical style, the piece has retained a secure place in the repertoire.
Although neo-classical reserve is clearly in evidence throughout, the work is nonetheless filled with character and charm. Certain emotional effects are unmistakable, but the mood is achieved using the simplest possible means, and without any trace of sentimentality. For instance, the Sereneta features a beautiful oboe solo, later in duet with one solo violin – yet the steady accompaniment in the strings discourages the oboist from indulging in any "Romantic" tempo fluctuations, and the violinist must play with a mute, narrowing the dynamic and expressive range of the instrument. Some of the most elegant moments of the piece are when the strings – ordinarily central to a lush orchestral sound – play minimally or not at all, such as the Gavotta or the beginning of the Minuet. Yet Stravinsky, even while self-consciously exercising emotional restraint, could not resist revealing his wit in the Vivo, featuring bawdy slides in the trombone and a virtuoso solo for the string bass. The brilliant Finale has a humor of its own, concluding with a series of identical runs in the trumpet, each one challenging the player to reach for the difficult high note just one more time.