Which composer's ballet "Pulcinella" is a landmark of 20th-century musical neoclassicism?

Igor Stravinsky composed the ballet “Pulcinella,” a landmark work in 20th-century musical neoclassicism.

Commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, the ballet premiered in Paris on 15 May 1920. Its story draws on commedia dell’arte and the comic figure Pulcinella. Léonide Massine created the choreography and danced the title role, while Pablo Picasso designed the sets and costumes.

Stravinsky based much of the score on music then attributed to Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Later scholarship showed that several pieces came from other 18th-century composers, including Domenico Gallo. Stravinsky transformed this older material with modern rhythms, harmonies, and orchestration.

“Pulcinella” is commonly described as the work that launched Stravinsky’s neoclassical period. It is sometimes confused with the later “Pulcinella Suite,” an instrumental adaptation extracted from the ballet. The complete ballet includes vocal soloists and sung trios, and typically lasts about 35–40 minutes.