Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) wrote three famous ballet works during the early period of his creation——The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. Later, Stravinsky adapted Petrushka on the solo piano version for Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982).

In Petrushka, whether in the active or inactive episodes in the ballet, or in the striking contrasts arranged and adapted in the solo piano version, the main goal was to seek a balance between the contrasts, which in this work

achieved unity in all kinds of incompatible materials, thus becoming a highly challenging composition both technically and musically. Rubinstein as the only pianist that

Stravinsky allowed to adapt this composition, made full use of the piano’s effect, resulting in a refreshing performance version that took some notable adaptation methods.

This paper mainly discusses the texture and layering in Stravinsky’s Petrushka on the solo piano, while also putting down on paper Rubinstein’s adaptation as heard in his live recording. The author hopes through this research into different adapters’thinking, one could reach a deeper understanding of this composition, and hence a wider scope for the performance interpretation.