num_pages: 288
description: On 29 May 1913 at the Theatre de Champs-Elyses in Paris a new ballet by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky received its premiere. The audience for this opening night of Igor Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) included Picasso Proust Debussy and Gertrude Stein alongside theatregoers of more conservative hue. When the curtain rose on a cast of frenziedly stamping dancers a near-riot ensued ensuring the evening would enter the folklore of modernism. While it was the dancing that triggered the mayhem Stravinsky's score contained shocks enough with its experiments in tonality metre rhythm and dissonance. The Rite would achieve recognition in its own right as a concert piece and is now seen as one of the most influential works of the 20th century.Gillian Moore explores the cultural climate and the individual artistic sensibility that created The Rite analyses the music itself and explains how a scandalous novelty of 1913 became a 21st-century concert staple. As well as considering its influence on 20th-century classical composers she probes The Rite's impact on film music (including the score for Jaws); its extensive use by jazz musicians (including Charlie Parker) and by artists as diverse as Weather Report Joni Mitchell Frank Zappa and King Crimson.
language: English
title: The Rite of Spring: The Music of Modernity
publisher: Head of Zeus