New Source

Glass, Philip. Music. Updated ed. New York: First Da Capo P, 1995. 12.

Research Question

In 1913, “The Rite of Spring” represented the first avant-garde, controversial artwork of the 20^th century. How does a work of art revolutionize a culture and how does it extend beyond the arts and affect our social thought?

Weiss, Piero, and Richard Taruskin. "The Rite of Spring." Music in the Western World. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1984. 438-443.
This book is a history of Western music through documents and essays.

Watch Leonard Bernstein conduct a rehearsal of "The Rite of Spring" in 1987.

The Joffrey Ballet's 1987 production of Vaslav Nijinsky and Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring used the original sets, costumes, and choreography from the 1913 production. Photo by Herb Migdoll (from National Endowment for the Arts)

The composer, Stravinsky (left) and the choreographer, Nijinsky (right).

The Rite Of Spring" - Part 1: The Adoration Of The Earth -

Hear the very beginning of the solo bassoon that caused a scandal.

Stravinsky, Igor. An Autobiography. New York City: W.W. Norton and Company, 1962.

In chapter three of his autobiography, Stravinsky discusses how the idea of “The Rite of Spring” came about. He speaks of the early sketches for it and the collaboration involved. He describes rehearsals and stories leading up to the premier in Paris in 1913. Stravinsky describes his initial feeling of the crowd in the audience and how he quickly walked out when laughter started arousing from the opening bassoon notes. This is very interesting because we hear the composer's reaction toward that night and the feelings he had.. We also hear him speak years later reflecting on the opening night. Hearing from the man who wrote the work and who experienced the pain of feeling misunderstood, helps us to understand the actual circumstances surrounding this work that set many people off. This source undoubtedly explains how Stravinsky couldn't understand why people didn't like his work and how he thought it wasn't so bad.

Glass, Philip. "His Rite of Spring Heralded the Century. After That, He Never Stopped Reinventing Himself — or Modern Music." Time 8 June 1998. 12 Oct. 2007

Renowned composer Philip Glass discusses Stravinsky's inevitable, influential approach to composition with “The Rite of Spring”. Avant-garde composers, such as Glass, recognize the significance Stravinsky left behind. Glass discusses his experience seeing Stravinsky conduct and what that meant to him. Glass admires that Stravinsky was always reinventing himself. He was always projecting a distinct voice no matter what piece he was working on. Adapting earlier musical techniques and styles combined with a new musical voice always was prominent in Stravinsky's music. What composers weren't influenced by Stravinsky? Was it inevitable?

Fink, Robert. "Rigoroso (Eighth Note = 126)": "the Rite of Spring" and the Forging of a Modernist Performing Style." Journal of the American Musicological Society 52 (1999): 299-362. 11 Oct. 2007

In this article, Fink, a musicologist from UCLA, speculates the authenticity of “The Rite of Spring” and how we hear it today. The Joffrey Ballet tried very hard to recreate the ballet using every single detail available (sets, costumes, and choreography). Fink contrasts the realties of the original performance in 1913 with orchestrations and choreography, with that of today. He mentions that the original conductor in 1913, Pierre Monteux dismissed many of Stravinsky's metronome markings and tried to romanticize the music. Do we want to hear the way the piece actually sounded or how it was meant to sound? How does performance in art reflect it's worth? Is the performance part of the artwork?

Elyot, Kevin. "G2: Culture: I Predict a Riot: the Rite of Spring Premiere Caused Pandemonium and Shattered the Ballet World. But Could the Uproar Have Been Engineered, Asks Kevin Elyot." The Guardian 2 Mar. 2006, Final ed., sec. GUARDIAN FEATURES: 18. LexisNexis Academic. 11 Oct. 2007

Playright Kevin Elyot presents the atmosphere of the audience on the night of the premiere. Elyot also describes the choreographer, Nijinsky, as a major role in the work. Nijinsky had already been know to stir up controversy with his previous ballets. Elyot discusses the relationship between Nijinsky and Stravinsky and how the rehearsals were very long and difficult. This article also points out that perhaps the controversy regarding the opening night of “The Rite of Spring” was in fact, premeditated. Serge Diaghilev may have wanted his ballet to stir up a fuss and get people interested so they could come see the show. How did he know these two artists would succeed?

Craft, Robert. "The Rite of Spring: Genesis of a Masterpiece." Perspectives of New Music 5 (1966): 20-36. 11 Oct. 2007

Robert Craft is best known for his long and close friendship with Stravinsky. In this essay, Craft describes one of the most important features of “The Rite of Spring”: rhythm. He explains what rhythm was in music in the early 20^th century. He discovers how Stravinsky came about finding this new rhythm that shocked the audience's ears. Craft also explores precisely what Stravinsky's rhythm entailed and how he used it to project his unique voice. Craft also poses the question why do we talk about this piece today since it is already been talked about. Does it have any influence on us today? If so, how?