Hi everyone. Sorry that it's been so long since my last update! I do have some rather wonderful news though, I'm gonna start writing reviews for the amazing Bachtrack.com! My first one is already up on the site, it's a review of Shostakovich's 13th Symphony performed by the Radio Philharmonic, Dmitri Slobodeniouk, Sergei Alheksashkin and the Groot Omroepkoor. You can read it here.
But now, back to business. Today I want to talk about a piece that I really should've talked about way sooner. It's Stravinsky's famous ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). It's one of my absolute favourite pieces of music ever, it's so wonderfully exciting and rhythmical and just all sorts of amazing. I've also never met anyone who doesn't like it! (Although it may take some getting used to.) But before I say anything else, just watch this video:
But now, back to business. Today I want to talk about a piece that I really should've talked about way sooner. It's Stravinsky's famous ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). It's one of my absolute favourite pieces of music ever, it's so wonderfully exciting and rhythmical and just all sorts of amazing. I've also never met anyone who doesn't like it! (Although it may take some getting used to.) But before I say anything else, just watch this video:
Not only is this one of the most exciting moments of Le Sacre, it also shows how badass Esa-Pekka Salonen is! Here is the entire piece:
Pt.I: Introduction
Pt.I: Augurrs of Spring, Ritual of Abduction, Spring Rounds, Ritual of the River Tribes, Procession of the Sage, Adoration of the Earth, Dance of the Earth
Pt. II: Introduction, Mystic Circle of Young Girls
Pt. II: Glorification of the Chosen One, Evocation of the Ancestors, Ritual Action of the Ancestors, Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One).
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian/French/American composer. He's probably most well-known for his ballets Le Sacre du Printemps, L'Oiseau du Feu (The Firebird) and Petrushka for the Ballet Russes but wrote lots of other amazing things. He grew up in Russia, but moved to France in 1920 and to the US in 1939, and it seems that where he lived really influenced his works, there's a very noticeable difference between works he wrote in Russia (the aforementioned ballets and other works like the AMAZING Les Noces and many more), the works he wrote in Paris (Symphony of Psalms (SO GOOD), Oedipus Rex etc.) and the American ones (In Memorian Dylan Thomas, Agon etc.). Somehow he gets away with lots of different styles though, and he's still almost always recognizable as Stravinsky, which is quite a feat. I'll definitely post lots of other music by him, but if you really enjoy Le Sacre, you should definitely go listen to L'Oiseau du Feu. 
Aww, I can remember reading about this ballet when I was younger and convinced I would be a ballerina when I grew up, I was all "wait, where are the princessses, what the hell is this?", but I've never listened to it before.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, I've just finished Arthur Japin's Vaslav, so your post came at an ideal moment ;). I really enjoyed listening to it, so thank you for posting it!
Ooh, I really need to read Vaslav! Is it good? Did you enjoy the music?
ReplyDeleteI've been confronted with Stravinsky from a very early age, thanks to Disney's Fantasia. The Rite of Spring is still one of my favourite pieces of music. :D
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