Day 28: Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Picture to follow!
Ah, now, this is more like it!! Reminds me of my university
days, and the music lectures! Such a lot of the stuff we listened to was from
the early twentieth century, that this almost typical! I think one of the
things that stands out for me is the use of the woodwind section, which is much
more prominent than in earlier music. Apparently, Stravinsky takes these wind
instruments to the extremes of their registers in order to achieve the sound he
wants.
The word cacophony keeps coming to mind, but I think what I
actually mean is dissonance! This is quite a feature of this piece, and others
of the time. Rite of Spring (aka Le Sacre du Printemps) was written to accompany a ballet that was choreographed by
Nijinsky and produced by Diaghilev – quite a roll call of names, there. I must
admit I’ve never seen the ballet and always think of it as a standalone piece.
Great fun!
This recording was made by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux.
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