Jeu de cartes / Suiten Nr. 1 und 2 für kleines Orchester / Petruschka

Igor Strawinsky writes in his memoirs about the composition of "Petruschka":
"While I was writing this music I clearly imagined a suddenly liberated puppet which brings the orchestra to the brink of despair with its diabolical leaps, answered by the orchestra in its turn with threatening fanfares. While going for walks by Lake Geneva after I had finished this bizarre piece, I searched for a title in my mind which would express in one word the essence of my music and accordingly the essence of the figure in my imagination. One day I sprang in the air for joy. Petrushka, the eternal and unhappy hero of all fairs in all countries - I had found my title."
In "Jeu de cartes" Strawinsky has changed from a Russian story-teller to a worldly, well-read stylist. "Jeu de Cartes" is an interpretation in dance of a game of poker in three rounds, in which the Joker makes itself felt in a confusing and disturbing way.