# The RIOT of Spring



## Earthling (May 21, 2010)

Its getting close to that time of the year: the 29th of May, the anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky's *Le Sacre du Printemps*.

An excellent hour-long doco on the Rite, from Michael Tilson Thomas' Keeping Score series.

Also: Simon Rattle on the Rite.

And the final sacrificial dance from the film Rhythm is It!

And a reconstruction of Nikinsky's original conception of the ballet (the Joffrey Ballet):
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

A dish best served LOUD.


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## Earthling (May 21, 2010)

Pierre Boulez on Le Sacre: 
Part 1

Part 2


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I like (if not strictly love) _The Rite_, obviously a seminal work in the history of C20th music. But I'm somewhat disappointed that it was a kind of "one off" for Stravinsky, he never composed anything with near as much intensity ever again (not of what I've heard so far, anyway). Another thing is that he virtually went straight into a long neo-classical phase in the late 1910's and early '20's, which was very controversial. A number of his fellow musicians and critics (& I suppose just listeners as well) questioned this, they were very critical of it and saw it as a kind of "selling out." I kind of disagree, I think that he also produced many fine works in that phase, such as _Oedipus Rex _and the _Symphony of Psalms_. These works are more pared down and lean, they present a very different "take" on neo-classicsim than say the whimsy and lightness of someone like Poulenc. Stravinsky definitely had his own style, no matter what phase he was in, his music always sounds to be his own.

The title of the thread reminds me strongly of one of a series of songs composed by USA composer Henry Cowell, _Three Anti-Modernist Songs_. One of them is about the "riot of spring" and is basically taking the **** out of the conservatives who thought this music was just noise, couldn't understand it, and therefore thought it was rubbish. It's somewhat frightening to think that some listeners out there still hold similar erroneous attitudes today...


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## Earthling (May 21, 2010)

His *Symphonies of Wind Instruments *resembles (in places) the Rite, as do the first and third movements of his *Symphony in Three Movements *(though I am not much of a fan of the latter work myself). On a smaller scale the *Concertino *(first for string quartet, and later re-scored for twelve instruments) has some connections.

But I'm not sure there was much else to continue doing down the path of the Rite's savage sound. Looking back on it now, it actually has plenty of memorable and hummable melodies, and the opening of part II actually resembles Debussy a bit. There are some really memorable passages. It is still an emotionally exhausting piece to listen to.

I hope one day to see the piece performed live. I'm hoping a lot of orchestras will be performing it in 2013-- I would imagine so, being the 100th anniversary.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Yes, I know _Symphonies of Wind Instruments _(dedicated to Debussy, I believe?). Remember seeing it done live in the early '90's, but I haven't seen the _Rite _done live either (I'd really like to see that done as a ballet, as I have never attended ballet, and I think that the _Rite _would be the perfect introduction). Haven't heard the other two works you mention, not within recent memory, anyway.

I think that there was possiblities for extension of the ideas generated by the _Rite_. Stravinsky might have thought of it as a kind of "dead end," but others didn't. Three composers that I can think of who took off from where Stravinsky left off in the _Rite_, were Edgard Varese, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Silvestre Revueltas. Of course, they all did things in different ways, the impact/emphasis of the influence was different, each of these guys' music has a different "flavour." But the rhythmic complexity and the ideas about harmonic and thematic development pioneered by the_ Rite _(& to a degree, maybe Petrushka as well) are taken a few steps further by these three guys. Stravinsky's music in general had wider influence than this, and in turn, he was influenced by the serialists towards the end of his career. But it would have been interesting if he had explored the directions he laid down in the _Rite_ further, rather than going off into a completely different direction, first with neoclassicism, and then with serialism. But I suppose he didn't want to be repeating himself, like the Spanish C20th painter Pablo Picasso, he wanted to change his style to suit the times more with the passing of each era...


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## Earthling (May 21, 2010)

Yeah, the Symphonies of Wind Instruments was dedicated to Debussy. A version of that ending chorale was originally written for piano, which I only heard for the first time a couple years ago. My favourite part of the piece.

It occurred to me last night that the very end of Stravinsky's *Violin Concerto *resembles the sacrificial dance (the exciting double stopping bit at the very end). Of course, beyond that rhythmic element, it sounds nothing at all like the Rite! LOL


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## Earthling (May 21, 2010)

"As I came home through the woods with my string of fish, trailing my pole, it being now quite dark, I caught a glimpse of a woodchuck stealing across my path, and felt a strange thrill of savage delight, and was strongly tempted to seize and devour him raw; not that I was hungry then, except for that wildness which he represented. Once or twice, however, while I lived at the pond, I found myself ranging the woods, like a half-starved hound, with a strange abandonment, seeking some kind of venison which I might devour, and no morsel could have been too savage for me."

_Walden_, Henry David Thoreau


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## pianoman55 (Jan 2, 2010)

I'm a huge fan of MTT and the "Keeping Score" series. Best thing to come since Bernstein's, "Young People's Concerts". 

And to tackle the idea that Andre posed about the Rite being a "One off" thing, I agree to an extent. We must remember, though, that the Rite was one of its kind. It not only propelled the expectations of classical music forward, but it also propelled the musical and technical expectations of musicians forward. Part of what made, and continues to make, "Rite of Spring" such an incredible piece is the completely NEW sound invented by Stravinsky. Therefore, because it was so groundbreaking, there was no room in the musical world for another piece of the same magnitude. The listener's mind had already been blown out of the water by "Rite of Spring". Musicians and listeners needed some time to adapt to this new sound before being blown out of the water again by compositions by Babbitt or Carter. So, I think it's a constant cycle of innovation followed by building up to the next innovation. MAHLER to STRAVINSKY to BABBITT AND CARTER and who's next? 

Those are my thoughts, anyways...


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