Bass clarinet Nos. 4, 7, 8, and 11, and Leoš Janáček's Sinfonietta. All of these works exploit the instrument's dark, powerful lower range. Prokofiev wrote parts for the instrument in his Symphonies Nos. 2–7 and in his ballet "Romeo and Juliet". Sergei Rachmaninoff used the instrument to great effect in his Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 and in his symphonic poem, "Isle of The Dead". Igor Stravinsky also wrote complex parts for the instrument throughout his career, most prominently in his ballets "The Firebird" (1910), "Petrushka" (1911) and "The Rite of Spring" (1913). The bass clarinet has a solo at the opening
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in "Narodnye russkie skazki". It is one of many tales written about the mythical Firebird. It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include "Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful", "Corvetto", "King Fortunatus's Golden Wig", and "The Mermaid and the Boy". Another, literary variant is Madame d'Aulnoy's "La Belle aux cheveux d'or", or "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks". A royal huntsman found a feather of the firebird and, though his horse warned him against it, picked it up.