Song View

Stravinsky's ballet "Petrushka" had its premiere on June 13, 1911 at the Châtelet Theater in Paris, France. This small part from the ballet music is, according to various sources, a piece entitled "Wooden Leg" by a 'Mr. Spencer'. This melody was played every morning by a barrel organ player under Stravinsky's window. Stravinsky later had to pay part of the license fees to its author by court order. Whether the melody - as is often claimed - is a Ukrainian or Russian folk song cannot be proven at present. A German text version of the song ("Als zum Wald Petruschka ging") was written by a certain Fritz Schröder.