These two ballets reveal a specific facet of Stravinsky's genius, his skill in pastiche. Having used music from eighteenth-century Naples for Pulcinella, he turned to Tchaikovsky for Le Baiser de la f�e. On both occasions, he succeeded in transforming the exercise of homage into a highly personal work. Stravinsky had a special artistic affinity with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which amply repays the debt in this new recording.