At this the orchestra exploded with the most vehement protestations - hammer blows , in fact ... '' Later , he said : `` In composing the music , I had in my mind a distinct picture of a puppet , suddenly endowed with life , exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggios .
Stravinsky was thinking of the Russian hand puppet , Petrushka , when he wrote the concert piece : `` In composing the music , I had in my mind a distinct picture of a puppet , suddenly endowed with life , exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggios .