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fortunately there was no riot after the orchestra played stravinsky...

5.30.2011



the first audience to ever hear stravinsky's "rite of spring"
{the original title in french "le sacre du printempts"}
erupted into a riot: the music and choreography {of the ballet}
were too much for the traditional crowd. stravinsky begged the
orchestra and the dancers to stop, but they had agreed before-hand
to continue no matter what happened.

stravinsky's "rite of spring" has a pulse like no other
composition had had before. it changed classical music forever.
and the amazing thing is no one has even attempted to imitate it since.

i'm in love with both "the adoration of the earth"
and "the exalted sacrifice"...it's intense and abrupt
with a primal pulse throughout the entire piece.

what a dream to hear it live.

here's a link to a fantastic interview with swiss orchestra conductor, tierry fischer,
about the piece and stravinksy.
brilliant.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it too... Stravinsky is not the easiest compositor but still really interesting :)
This place looks amazing!

That Girl in Pearls said...

Watching live symphonies is one of my favorite things. This definitely makes me want to put this on my list of things to do this summer! Lovely.


Hope you have a wonderful day, Love.
B.
That Girl in Pearls

Caroline said...

Have you seen the film Coco and Igor? It chronicles the love affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky and is absolutely superb. Judging by the post, I think you'd love it!

Brandon Burt said...

Those photos are from Abravanel Hall, right?

Rite of Spring is fabulously dissonant. I've loved it as a musical composition since I was a kid -- but it wasn't until a few years ago, when I saw it as a ballet performance, that I fully appreciated it.

I think the choreography provides an essential percussive line that isn't included in the musical score -- as the dancers stomp around the stage, playing out the sacrificial ritual, the sound of their footsteps creates a polyrhythmic counterpoint. Segments like "The Ritual of Abduction" come together in a completely different way. It's brilliant!