THE STORY BEHIND: Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring"

On April 15, conductor Sascha Goetzel and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra will present THE RITE OF SPRING with violinist James Ehnes.

Title: The Rite of Spring
Composer: Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: Last performed May 2, 2009 with Larry Rachleff conducting. This piece is scored for two flutes, two piccolos, alto flute, three oboes, two English horns, two clarinets, two bass clarinets, E-flat clarinet, three bassoons, two contrabassoons, seven horns, Wagner tuba, three trumpets, piccolo trumpet, bass trumpet, three trombones, two tubas, timpani, percussion and strings.

The Story: In his autobiography, Igor Stravinsky states that, when finishing The Firebird in 1910,

I had a fleeting vision, which came to me as a complete surprise. . . . I saw in imagination a solemn pagan rite: sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring. Such was the theme of the Sacre du Printemps.

       
Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes, immediately recognized the balletic potential of Stravinsky’s idea. However, in the next year came the piano Konzertstück that grew into Stravinsky’s second ballet, Petrushka. Finally, in the summer of 1911, Stravinsky could set to work on the Rite, following a scenario prepared by his associate, Nicholas Roerich. Stravinsky completed Part I by Christmas, and by the spring of 1912, about half of Part II was ready. However, since Diaghilev decided to postpone the production until 1913, Stravinsky did not complete the score until the end of March of that year, just two months before its premiere.
         
Roerich outlined his scenario in a letter to Diaghilev, but later Jean Cocteau published a much more succinct version of it:

Part I: The prehistoric youth of Russia is reveling in the games and dances of Spring. They adore the earth and the Sage who reminds them of the Sacred Rites.

Part II: For Spring to return, these credulous men believe that they must sacrifice a young girl, the Chosen One among them. She is left alone in the forest; the ancestors come out of the shadows like bears and form the circle. Inspired by them, the Chosen One dances in rhythms marked by long syncopations. When she falls dead, the ancestors approach and, picking her up, lift her toward the skies.

       
The intellectual and artistic world of Paris may have been ready for such a shocking theme, for primal dance movements, and for the masterful yet strange music that brought it all alive. However, the wealthy patrons and more traditionally-minded ballet-goers definitely were not. They apparently took the work as a personal affront, for at the famous premiere on May 29, 1913, unexpected disturbances among the audience broke out, nearly becoming a riot. Stravinsky wrote:

As for the actual performance, I am not in a position to judge, as I left the auditorium at the first bars of the prelude, which had at once evoked derisive laughter. I was disgusted. These demonstrations, at first isolated, soon became general, provoking counter-demonstrations and very quickly developing into a terrific uproar. . . . I had to hold Nijinsky [the choreographer] by his clothes, for he was furious and ready to dash on to the stage at any moment and create a scandal. Diaghilev kept ordering the electricians to turn the lights on or off, hoping in that way to put a stop to the noise.

       
Thus went the first public hearing of one of the 20th century’s great orchestral masterpieces. Diaghilev clearly recognized the music’s greatness—also the promotional value of a controversial show that would make Stravinsky the bad boy of music for years to come. Many years later, Stravinsky reported:

After the “performance” we were excited, angry, disgusted, and — happy. I went with Diaghilev and Nijinsky to a restaurant. So far from weeping and reciting Pushkin in the Bois de Boulogne as the legend is, Diaghilev’s only comment was: “Exactly what I wanted.” He certainly looked contented.


Program Notes by Dr. Michael Fink © 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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