The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

Stravinsky made three concert suites from The Firebird — in 1911, 1919 and 1945 — and the middle one is by far the most played. He assembled it in Morges during his Swiss years, when wartime orchestras were small and the enormous 1910 ballet scoring was impractical: the 1919 suite reduces the forces to double woodwind and drops the harps down to one. Copyright played a part too, since the original score had lost protection in several countries. Five movements are retained, ending with the Berceuse and Finale run together without a break.