MUSIC 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Octatonic Scale, Iceberg, Antonio Vivaldi
The BIG BANG of MODERNISM!
THE RITE OF SPRING
Igor Stravinsky
(1882–1971)
Background:
Debussy’s Paris becomes a cultural center enlarged
by the presence of foreign artists
The “Russian” music of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgski,
Skryabin, Prokofiev et al, were received as Eastern
exoticisms in Western Europe.
Paris 1908: impresario Sergei Diaghilev
director of Ballets Russe produces Boris
Godonov, an opera by Modest Mussorgski
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2
After the Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet)
presented productions of ballets by Tchaikovsky
(e.g., Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake), Diaghilev
gathered the talents of an emerging modernist
avant-garde for new productions
In 1909, Diaghilev attended a concert by a young
student of Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky
Stravinsky’s Firebird, commissioned by Diaghilev,
took Paris by storm in 1910
Petroushka (1911) was another success and featured
the dancer Vaslov Nijinski
The Rite of Spring: Cultural Background
Primitivism — a means by which European art
might re-energize itself in the modern age
Russian Primitivism was alloyed with a nationalistic
urge to reclaim a culture that owed nothing to
Western Europe
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3
Stravinsky disguised the fact that he drew upon
Russian and Lithuanian folk songs in composing
The Rite of Spring
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Document Summary
Debussy"s paris becomes a cultural center enlarged by the presence of foreign artists. Skryabin, prokofiev et al, were received as eastern exoticisms in western europe. Paris 1908: impresario sergei diaghilev director of ballets russe produces boris. After the ballets russes (russian ballet) presented productions of ballets by tchaikovsky (e. g. , sleeping beauty, swan lake), diaghilev gathered the talents of an emerging modernist avant-garde for new productions. In 1909, diaghilev attended a concert by a young student of rimsky-korsakov, igor stravinsky. Stravinsky"s firebird, commissioned by diaghilev, took paris by storm in 1910. Petroushka (1911) was another success and featured the dancer vaslov nijinski. Primitivism a means by which european art might re-energize itself in the modern age. Russian primitivism was alloyed with a nationalistic urge to reclaim a culture that owed nothing to. Stravinsky disguised the fact that he drew upon. The rite of spring (le sacre du printemps) The rite : a plot-less depiction of existence on the prehistoric russian steppes.
