20 ABRACADABRA And what do you feel when you play the overwhelming Finale of The Firebird, characterised by the string tremolos and harp glissandi that are so effective in the orchestral version? It’s absolutely vertiginous! I feel as if the space-time continuum is expanding. The beginning of the Finale is one of the most beautiful passages in the orchestral suite. There’s an intimacy here that’s reminiscent of the universe of Brahms, with those horn solos and that touching tenderness in the midst of barbarity. The haunting Lullaby that precedes it foreshadows a violent episode, the death of King Kastchei. But love and harmony triumph in the last great surge of the score. We’re carried away by the rhythm, the accelerations, the accents . . . And I should emphasise that this transcription is remarkably well written for the piano.
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