The Rite of Spring, a ballet by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on May 29, 1913. The performance was considered one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary pieces of orchestral music ever written. The riot at the premiere of the ballet is one of the most famous scandals in the history of the arts, but after over 100 years of retelling, few accounts of the night from its composer have been found.
The riot that greeted the Rite of Spring only found its analytical counterpart some 70 years after its premiere, with factions headed by Pieter van den Toorn, Richard Taruskin, and Allen Forte. The San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas explores the infamous Rite of Spring premiere, the music’s longevity, and its surprising singability.
The “weird” harmony in Stravinsky’s ballet had a huge influence on composers using dissonance to create tension more than before. Stravinsky believed that the crowd “came for Scheherazade or Cleopatra, and they saw the Sacre du Printemps”, leading to their upsetness. At one point, a climactic brass fortissimo caused the orchestra to break into nervous laughter, causing Stravinsky to intervene angrily.
The Rite of Spring is not atonal, as it is a wonderful experience, but it still annoyed Parisian ballet goers. Although subsequent occasions were relatively peaceful, the Rite of Spring still annoyed Parisian ballet goers.
📹 Stravinsky Firebird SCREAM
North State Symphony Scott Seaton, Music Director November 12, 2017 Cascade Theatre, Redding, California.
Why is Rite of Spring so popular?
The Rite of Spring, a 20th-century ballet, is considered one of the most influential works of the 20th century. Its score is the world’s first modernist orchestral work and is one of the most recorded works in the classical repertoire. Over 190 reconstructions and derivations have been mounted on professional stages worldwide, including South African choreographer Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice, which will be on view at Spoleto Festival USA from June 1 to 4.
The Ballets Russes, founded by impresario Diaghilev in 1909, aimed to introduce Russian artists like Stravinsky, Leon Bakst, Michel Fokine, and Rimsky-Korsakov to the Western world. The Rite of Spring was a collaboration between composer Stravinsky, visual artist Nicholas Roerich, and choreographer Nijinsky, celebrating the advent of spring and its darker plot of ritual sacrifice. The ballet received five performances in Paris and four in London before closing due to World War I, a falling out between Nijinsky and Diaghilev, and Nijinsky’s declining mental health.
How did the audience react to the first performance of The Rite of Spring?
In 1913, during the inaugural presentation of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” the audience’s reaction was so vehemently negative that they effectively drowned out the orchestra, hurled objects at the stage, and engaged in physical altercations.
Is The Rite of Spring atonal?
Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, written for a ballet and concert in 1913, was considered avant-garde by Parisian audiences. The piece, performed by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, was a “near-riot” due to its experimental use of dissonance, tonality, rhythm, and meter. Today, it is often performed in concert without the ballet, and its experimental use of dissonance, tonality, rhythm, and meter has made it one of the most influential 20th-century compositions.
What does The Rite of Spring symbolize?
The Rite of Spring, a traditional Slavic dance, portrays the primitive life of early tribes, in which a virgin is selected to dance until death in order to bring about the arrival of spring. An engaging YouTube animation provides an insightful overview of the dance’s historical background and symbolic significance.
Why was there a riot after The Rite of Spring?
The Rite of Spring, a ballet by Igor Stravinsky, was premiered in Paris on 29 May 1913 by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The performance caused a riot, with many audience members outraged by the avant-garde score and choreography of the choreographer, Nijinsky. Stravinsky, a young composer, was recruited by Diaghilev to create works for the Ballets Russes, his third project after The Firebird and Petrushka. The riot occurred during Stravinsky’s performance, which was a controversial event in the history of music.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, performed the ballet, which can be listened to on Apple Music and Spotify. Stravinsky’s work is considered one of the most notorious scandals in music history.
Is The Rite of Spring difficult to play?
“The Rite of Spring” is a masterpiece in twentieth-century orchestration, known for its catchy and memorable nature. However, it is a challenging piece to play, with the first recording to achieve the desired effect coming from Pierre Boulez with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1969. The piece was considered impossible to play precisely as written before. The composer also enjoys matching music to the season and weather, such as jazz, which can transform “depressing” weather into “atmospheric” ones. “Spring” from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” might match the spring weather in Georgia, but in South Bend, where it’s snowy, hails, and winds, “The Rite of Spring” is more suitable.
Which piece of music caused a riot when it was first played?
The Rite of Spring, a ballet by Stravinsky, was premiered in Paris on 29 May 1913, leading to a riot. The story has gained the certainty of legend, with witnesses describing various events, including blows exchanges, objects being thrown at the stage, and a duel. Contemporary press reports show a lot of noise, and Esteban Buch, director of studies at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Science in Paris, believes that “something really extraordinary” took place. However, the riot’s significance increases over time as accounts given over the years and decades follow. The riot is considered one of the most scandalous events in the history of art.
What ballet caused a riot?
The Rite of Spring, a ballet by Stravinsky, had its premiere in Paris on May 29, 1913, which resulted in a riot. The story has acquired the unquestionable certainty that only legend can possess, with witnesses providing accounts of the event that vary in their details. Some accounts suggest that physical altercations occurred, with objects being thrown at the stage, and that at least one individual was challenged to a duel.
How did people react to Rite of Spring?
Stravinsky’s music incited a commotion at its inaugural performance in Paris on May 29, 1913. The affluent audience was ill-prepared for the jagged rhythms, discord, and peculiar jerking of the dancers on stage. In order to ensure that the dancers were aware of their respective roles, the choreographer, Nijinsky, was compelled to vocalize the requisite numbers. One musicologist observed that the performance had the effect of making the audience members feel as though they were participating in a pagan ritual.
What did audiences find shocking about The Rite of Spring?
The opening notes of a ballet sparked a ruckus in the auditorium due to the high-pitched bassoon solo. The audience’s wild shouting made it difficult to hear the music. Stravinsky panicked and ran backstage, but chaos ensued. Diaghilev had expected a ruckus, but he instructed the conductor, Pierre Monteux, to keep going despite the chaos. The performance continued, and Stravinsky and Nijinsky were unaware of the chaos. The performance was a testament to the power of music and the power of imagination.
What was so controversial about The Rite of Spring?
On May 29, 1913, Les Ballets Russes in Paris performed The Rite of Spring, a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. The performance was characterized by a rhythmic score and primitive scenario, setting scenes from pagan Russia. The complex music and violent dance steps, depicting fertility rites, initially sparked unrest, leading to a riot. The Paris police intervened but only restored limited order, causing chaos for the rest of the performance.
Despite this, Sergei Diaghilev, the director of Les Ballets Russes, praised the scandal as “just what I wanted”. The ballet completed its run of six performances without further disruption. The piece is considered a 20th-century masterpiece and is often heard in concert. In 1988, the Joffrey Ballet reconstructed Nijinsky’s original setting, televised nationally on PBS, 75 years after its premiere.
📹 Episode 10: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
It doesn’t get more radical than this – Igor Stravinsky’s groundbreaking ballet and the story of that “Riot at the Rite”!
This has happened to me in a very similar orchestrated piece, and I have to say the responded laughter of the audience was delightful. The people here are laughing not just because of the scream, but because many, most, if not all of them, felt a little jump in their heart when the music came in, and when their brain registered that someone had YELPED they couldn’t help but laugh because they identified with that surprise themselves. The laughter is not just at the person who screamed, but at themselves as well, and in that way they are laughing with each other. It’s a very humanly cute moment to have captured here!
I love this article so much. The authenticity of her sound. Then the sounds in response. This music is scary for anyone who can feel. Bravo for the truth in her reaction. Bravo the conductor for his loving response. Bravo the orchestra for somehow continuing to play! Bravo the audience for sharing in her experience with their laughter. 🎉🥰
Anyone else notice the camera literally shake with that chord? I’m guessing the camera must have been right next to the bass drum. What a punch! Sounds great. My symphony had an experience like when we played the Star Wars Main Title a couple of years ago. We hit that first chord and a bunch of little boys in the front row gave us a similar reaction. That was some good motivation, man we had some fun with that performance 🙂
I love classical music. Some of the most awe-inspiring pieces of music to exist, and always up to listeners to interpret what they’re hearing. Context always matters but one of my favorite experiences was listening to a local radio station and the dj stating how the one that wrote the piece put the title after all the music with the intention that the conductor would also say the title at the end of the performance. The idea was to let listeners try to draw out the intended meaning of the piece without prior input from the title. I tried it and I guessed the title wrong but I thought back to certain parts and it made much more sense with the context.
This article has made me laugh so hard. It’s so adorable and human. The startling awake and the building hilarity of all of the musicians as they master themselves. It’s so warm. And that conductor is so PRECISE. I love it when you can SEE that the music is INSIDE of them as they bring it to life. He’s very cute, too. 😉
I’m laughing really hard! Not only the conductor’s smile, the audiences laughter and chuckles but the conductor gave a great “OK” sign to the musicians! I’ve heard this piece many, many times and one time the same thing happened and the person who yelped was directly behind me. I turned around smiling and chuckling and she was doing the same. What a wake up call!!! Well done!!!
Awesome! Classical music does that to you, especially when you’re not familiar with the piece. I pretty much reacted in the same way (without the scream) when I first heard the opening scene of Verdi’s Otello conducted by Herbert Von Karajan (studio recording). At the time I was living in Nicaragua right after the civil war of 1979. One night I saw burglars trying to scale the front gates. I turned up stereo full blast (the stereo was located in a room at the front of the house) and played that same scene. The two individuals ran off and never returned. True story.
So we had this one pice of music we played last year in orchestra. It had cowbells, duck calls, slide whistles, and many other different sound effects which were important to the song. One of the sound effects was a scream. So we were playing along at the concert. I, in my great wisdom forgot about the scream. So when it came to the part when the girl screamed, I visibly jumped and nearly fell out of my chair. That was a good concert.
Reminds me of the time I was attending a statewide music assessment for band. Two bands from our school went, and I was in the audience perusal the other band. They had a similar transition in their third piece, from the calming second part to the hectic third part. So when that happened at the assessment, half the audience jolted out of their seats (other school bands were perusal) and I was trying my best not to laugh since my sleeping friends didn’t wake up lol Moments like this in music are treasures
I, more of a Romantic/Classical/Impressionist guy, am not that familiar with Stravinsky’s music and have only heard the Firebird once or twice. I am not greatly familiar with the piece, and certainly not the score or specific details. So when I saw the title of the article, I assumed “The Scream” was a term for a particular moment, chord, motif, or progression, like “The Chord” from Wagner’s Tristan or “The Glissandi” from Prokofiev’s Third; “The Octaves” from Tchaikovsky’s First, or The Triplet Motif from Beethoven’s Moonlight. That it was an ACTUAL SCREAM caught me by total surprise and gave me a laugh as big as the orchestras! 😂
There is a piece from Joseph Hayden called “Symphonie mit dem Paukenschlag” where there is a very quiet piece interrupted by a sudden bang of the drum. It’s said that Hayden meant to lure his employer the count of Esterhazy in a sleep with a quiet piece before waking him up with a sudden thunder. I think Stravinsky did that trick too. With great success.
Listen to Haydn’s symphony No. 94 “mit dem Paukenschlag” (engl. “surprise”), 2nd movement, Andante. At a piano pianissimo moment there’s a single orchestral strike including an ear shattering beat on the kettle drums. People say he composed this beat to wake up people who fell asleep during the Andante. But that anecdote is not fully assured 😊
Ok so i really appreciate this justification of ny nerves. Because the scream always scared me growing up!! And when i was younger, I was playing a version of this at a church with some old people present, and turned it down so that way nobody would be scared by it. And I feel like everyone thought i was being over dramatic and weird, but its really freaking terrifying when you dont know whats coming.
I used this piece to audition some speakers years ago. Not being too impressed by the Gales, Wharfdales and others, the assistant put Electrovoice speakers up… after the “whump” from the full orchestra and that huge base drum, a guy came running from the back of the shop and yelled “what was that? what’s happening?”… he was really shaken, poor chap. I said “I’ll take those please”.
i’m playing baba yaga by mussorgsky in my school orchestra right now and there’s a very similar moment to this in the piece. my assistant director showed us this clip and said that he wants us to play so aggressively on the downbeat that an audience member screams like the woman in this clip. (my classmates and i were crying with laughter)
Could it be the screen was a response to that one player who came in like an eighth or 16th note early? Is that in the score? Maybe that’s why, a friend or family of the player? Or they were just logged into that perfect sense of peace when something is diminuendo, de crescendo’d, decelerated so perfectly setting up such a great sense of possible anticipation? Or maybe they were asleep in their chair at that moment or does not load into that sense of security? So effective no matter how you look at it!
this happened to me once. i forget the name of the piece, but it was the first song of the night, i was like 13 or 14 and was ready for maybe something calm or indroductory, but then WHAM! I jumped five feet and my parents thought I had a heart attack. fun times, as someone who was a former band member in grade school, middle and 1 year of high school, these are the best kinds of music to play to get the crowd pumped.
Very reminiscent of, “I FRY MINE IN BUTTER!!!! “. Two older ladies attending the symphony’s matinee concert talking about cooking something, the music was very loud and The woman were speaking very loudly towards each other…just as the music cut off one woman says the phrase above very loudly!!!! Complete giggles from the audience