The Scherzo á la Russe was commissioned by Paul Whiteman for a special radio broadcast. I originally wrote it to the specifications of his ensemble, then rewrote it for standard orchestra – which gave me some trouble, since the volume of harp and guitar in the trio canon was so much lighter than that of the harp and piano. Whiteman conducted the first performance himself, much too rapidly. He and others professed to hear reminiscences of Petrushka in it.