Pina Bauschs Tanztheatre Wuppertal Production (that Bausch created in 1975) at Sadler's Wells in 2008. Photo credit: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian
Composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring feels incredibly relevant in this Spring of 2020. The 1913 world premiere of this work is famous for causing a riot! The Rite of Spring has captivated scholars, journalists and musicians since that fateful Parisian premiere, the following guide is intended to share the wealth of resources about this “work of a madman”!
Harvard University Online Learning: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring: Modernism, Ballet, and Riots
Harvard University is offering a number of free online courses, including this one about The Rite of Spring! The three week course is at an introductory level and does not require any previous musical experience. Topics include the ballet’s innovative choreography, the basics of 20th-century orchestral form and technique, and the circumstances of this ballet’s first performance and subsequent history. While you’re here check out the abundance of free courses that Harvard University is currently offering online!
San Francisco Symphony: Keeping Score, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
The San Francisco Symphony is releasing nine one-hour documentary episodes, each of which tells the stories of great works of classical music with accompanying concert performances. Each episode can be viewed free of charge. On April 4, they will share their episode on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to their YouTube channel! “Creating Keeping Score remains one of the most exciting journeys the San Francisco Symphony and I have taken together,” said SFS Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, who narrates each documentary — from various locations around the world — and conducts the performances.
The New York Times: Parisians Hiss New Ballet (1913)
This trip to the archives provides concrete background information and is incredibly entertaining. It starts off by quoting French journalist Alfred Capus saying “Bluffing the idle rich of Paris through appeals to their mobbery is a delightfully simple matter.” It only gets better from here.
The Guardian: 100 Years of the Rite of Spring - in pictures
Since it first shocked audiences in Paris in 1913 with Nijinksy's steps danced by the Ballets Russes, Stravinsky's powerful and revolutionary score for The Rite of Spring has inspired countless different choreographers. Enjoy this guide through the ages!
Listen With The Score
If you like to watch the score while listening to a work, enjoy this recording of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1958) conducted by Leonard Bernstein set to the score on YouTube!
TwoSetViolin: When Rite of Spring Takes Over You
It turns out that Nijinsky’s choreography may be slightly out of place on mall escalators. TwoSetViolin consistently delivers hilarious videos about all things classical music, this one is no exception!
Melodica Men: Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring"
We are ending the list with another humorous take on this monumental work. Jokes aside, the melodica musicianship here is impressive.
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