Berceuse (4:17)

This piece is from The Firebird which is one of the many of his scores for ballet. It was so popular that Maria Tallchief (who payed the firebird) said that when it was over, all the dancers where sure it was a failure because it took the audience a few minutes to respond. When the audience finally responded, she said, it sounded like the roar of a football stadium. In adition Stravinski was asked and offered millions to write another Firebird. His response was that the cost to himself as a composer would be more than any money could offer.

The symbolism of the title firebird is based on the Russian fable of the phoenix.