Fanfare for a New Theatre

There are no movements here: it is one short blast. Two trumpets play in a tight, angular conversation, trading short bright phrases that overlap and answer each other. It sounds modern and a little sharp-edged, with none of the ceremonial pomp you might expect from a fanfare.

Because it is so brief, the best way to hear it is to focus on the two trumpet lines and notice how they chase each other. Once you have caught the pattern, it is over, so many concerts use it as a quick opener or a sharp contrast between larger works.

Igor Stravinsky wrote this fanfare in 1964 for the opening of the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. It was dedicated to Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine, the leaders of New York City Ballet, which made its home there. The piece is tiny, lasting well under a minute. It shows how Stravinsky, then in his eighties, could say something complete in a handful of notes. The program prints the title as either Theatre or Theater.