24. Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Michael Tilson Thomas and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
“My music is best understood by children and animals.” – Igor Stravinsky
Welcome back! Number 24 on our countdown (counting up?) of the top 50 classical recordings of all-time is a 1972 recording of Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas for Deutsche Grammophon. But before we get to the recording, the composer and the music needs some introduction.
The Composer
Igor Stravinsky was born in 1882 in Orianenbaum, Russia (near St. Petersburg) and died in 1971 in New York, New York. Highly original and inventive, he is one of the most influential composers in history. Stravinsky’s style is hard to pinpoint, as he moved from styles as diverse as Russian nationalism to neo-classicism to 12-tone principles to jazz-inflection. Even with these diverse guises, his music always retained its own identity.
When he was young, Stravinsky was not a prodigy as a musician, but he did come from a family where he was surrounded by music. Although he entered law school in the early 1900s, Stravinsky loved music and began private composition and orchestration studies with famous composer Rimsky-Korsakov. Soon he was producing his own compositions, and he caught the attention of well-known ballet impresario and founder of Ballets Russes Sergei Diaghilev. Diaghilev subsequently asked Stravinsky to compose ballet music for his company. A triad of early ballets, The Firebird (1910)...which made him famous almost overnight, Petrushka (1911), and especially The Rite of Spring (1913) cemented Stravinsky’s reputation as one of the most important Russian composers of his time. The premiere of The Rite of Spring was one of the most notorious events in music history…but more on that later.
In those early works, although they were typically nationalistic in style, it was already evident that Stravinsky was a risk-taking and unusual composer. While his writing was for the ballet, the music stood on its own and went far beyond what was required for the dance. Stravinsky’s use of “polytonality” was unique and striking for the time. Polytonality is the use of more than one key in the music simultaneously. It adds complexity, color, and often dissonance to the music, and Stravinsky was a master at using it. To ears accustomed to hearing classical and romantic themes up until the twentieth century, Stravinsky’s music would have sounded completely foreign, modern, even ugly. Stravinsky was also extremely original with his use of rhythms, and indeed his use of different rhythm combinations became another hallmark of his musical style.
Stravinsky would live in France in the 1920s, and his works from that time period were influenced by the jazz music that was taking hold in Paris. His works Ragtime and The Soldier’s Tale are examples of this, but then he soon turned to a more neoclassical style with such works as Pulcinella, Symphony of Psalms, and later The Rake’s Progress. These compositions would have a lot of impact, and would also influence other composers, especially in America. Stravinsky toured America in the 1930s, and wrote several other pieces commissioned by American orchestras.
Sadly Stravinsky’s wife, daughter, and mother all died within the space of a year and in 1940 he emigrated to America, settling in California. Stravinsky eventually became interested in the more modern 12-tone movement, and he composed several works using 12-tone as a tool, but always in his own original way. In the late 1950s and early 1960s when stereo recordings were beginning, Stravinsky made a series of recordings where he conducted his own works for Columbia Records. He continued composing until his death in 1971.
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Stravinsky’s music for The Rite of Spring ballet is one of the most important and iconic compositions in the history of music. The impact of the two ballets coming before it were nothing compared to the impact of The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky had conceived of the piece a few years earlier, “I dreamed of a scene of pagan ritual in which a chosen sacrificial virgin danced herself to death.” Vaslav Nijinsky, one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the century, was the choreographer.
It had its premiere on May 29, 1913 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, and it resulted in one of the biggest scandals in the history of music. It is fair to say the audience was not prepared for music of such ferocity and dissonance. The Rite of Spring music is primal, violent, and brutal. Stravinsky had chosen his friend Pierre Monteux (later to become a conducting legend) to conduct the premiere. Upon hearing the score played on the piano prior to the premiere, Monteux later reported that he had wanted to run out of the room. However, apparently nobody connected with the production anticipated such an extreme reaction from the audience.
Soon after the opening bassoon phrase, there was laughter. The laughter soon gave way to whistling and catcalls. The hissing gave way to booing, screaming, shouting, and then fighting. There was so much noise from the audience that Diaghilev had the lights to the hall turned on and off to try to calm the crowd. Insults were yelled, while the famous composer Ravel screamed his praise. Nothing could have prepared them for the harsh, throbbing rhythms assailing their ears.
Stravinsky himself later recounted:
“That the first performance of Le Sacre du Printemps was attended by a scandal must be known to everybody. Strange as it may seem, however, I was unprepared for the explosion myself. The reaction of the musicians who came to the orchestral rehearsals had no intimation of it, and the stage spectacle did not appear likely to precipitate a riot…mild protests against the music could be heard from the very beginning of the performance. Then when the curtain opened on the group of knock-kneed and long-braided Lolitas jumping up and down (Danse des adolescents), the storm broke. Cries of “Ta gueule” (“shut up”) came from behind me. I heard Florent Schmitt shout, “Taisez-vouz garces du seizieme” (“Shut up bitches of the Sixteenth”), the “garces” of the sixteenth arrondissement were of course the most elegant ladies in Paris. The uproar continued, however, and a few minutes later I left the hall in a rage; I have never again been that angry. The music was familiar to me; I loved it, and I could not understand why people who had not yet heard it wanted to protest in advance…”
But we now know that the shock at the music was only part of what caused the riot, and that there were likely other factors that contributed, including many tourists that evening and the setup of the hall which encouraged audience interaction. Indeed, that the protests began almost from the first note indicated that something may have been brewing in advance and had little to do with the actual music. Nevertheless, the music is on a pagan theme and is shockingly different than anything that had been heard previously.
The Rite of Spring overcame these protests, and soon impacted Europe with force. It became iconic very quickly, and became symbolic of twentieth century music in the same way Beethoven and Wagner were in the nineteenth century. Composers such as Prokofiev, Bartok, Milhaud, and Ravel among others were significantly influenced by the work. Its rhythms, explosive force, mood changes, and frequent dissonance broke with norms and music would never be the same again.
The Rite of Spring is divided into two parts, and then sub-parts:
Part I: L'Adoration de la Terre (The Adoration of the Earth)
Augurs of Spring
Ritual of Abduction
Spring Rounds
Ritual of the Rival Tribes
Procession of the Sage: The Sage
Dance of the Earth
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)
Introduction
Mystic Circles of the Young Adolescents (Girls)
Glorification of the Chosen One
Evocation of the Ancestors
Ritual Action of the Ancestors
Sacrificial Dance
After the work’s premiere in Boston, this poem appeared in the Boston Herald:
Who wrote this fiendish Rite of Spring,
What right had he to write the thing,
Against our helpless ears to fling
Its crash, clash, cling, clang, bing, bang, bing?
And then to call it Rite of Spring
The season when on joyous wing
The birds harmonious carols sing
And harmony’s in everything!
He who could write the Rite of Spring
If I be right, by right should swing!
What The Rite of Spring represented was a complete break with Romanticism in music. In the 1930s, Stravinsky said it was not music’s job to “express” anything. While that comment was often used against him, it seems he meant that music represents music itself rather than other agendas. Stravinsky’s belief was that music was essentially form and logic, and he was known to attack performers that he felt had misinterpreted his music. His main concerns were structure, texture, balance, and rhythm. You can certainly hear those qualities in the elemental and primal power of The Rite of Spring.
The Recording
There are many excellent recordings of The Rite of Spring. What it requires for a recording to break into the top 50 is for it to bring something extra to the music. There is one recording of The Rite of Spring which does that, and it is one of my favorite recordings of all-time. The recording is Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Michael Tilson Thomas on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Tilson Thomas would go on to record the piece other times, but this first recording is something very special.
In 1972, 28 year-old conductor Michael Tilson Thomas was the Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He had been a protege of Leonard Bernstein, and he won the prestigious Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood in 1969. At the time of this recording the Boston Symphony Orchestra was at an artistic high-point. He and the orchestra made several recordings with the Deutsche Grammophon label, including this incendiary Rite of Spring. Tilson Thomas would go on to be the conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and then the San Francisco Symphony where he has been since 1995. He disclosed in March 2022 that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Throughout his career, Tilson Thomas has always put a focus on musical education. He was featured on the Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic between 1971 and 1977, and in 1987 he founded the New World Symphony in Miami, Florida, an orchestral academy for gifted young musicians. In 2004 Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony also began a television series titled Keeping Score, which included nine one-hour documentary style episodes and eight live concerts covering the lives and music of famous composers, which began broadcasting on PBS in 2006. Tilson Thomas has made over 120 recordings in his career, and has become particularly known for his interpretations of Copland, Mahler, and Gershwin. Tilson Thomas is also a composer, perhaps most notably the orchestral work From the Diary of Anne Frank.
The recording at hand was one of his first recordings, and in my opinion it is his best recording. Inexplicably, this recording has been out of print at various times and was delayed in its arrival on CD. Today you can find it on streaming services such as Spotify and idagio, but you may have to search for it. In 2012 Decca published a collection titled Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps 100th Anniversary Collectors Edition which contains an extremely exhaustive collection of recordings of The Rite of Spring. Happily, it includes this fantastic recording with Tilson Thomas and the BSO. You may find used copies of the CD on Amazon, but for a price.
The young Tilson Thomas and the Boston players are on blazing form here, and this is a “no holds barred” performance. This is everything The Rite of Spring should be: alive, brutally raw, violent, mysterious, imaginative, and powerful. Here are some highlights:
Part I.2 Augurs of Spring - brutality and chaos thrown together captured perfectly.
Part I.3 Abduction - the woodwinds and brass evoke power and fear.
Part I.4 Spring Rounds - the timpani and cymbals crash at 2’07” is earth shattering as it should be; the blaring brass that follow are horrifying in their frenetic pulse and several climaxes.
Part I.5 Ritual of the Rival Tribes - again the percussion are brilliant, vital and dramatic; we hear volleys of brass wailing back and forth, then desperate fanfares that sound raw and uncivilized followed again by relentless thumps on timpani.
Part I.7b Dance of the Earth - Percussion crashing repeatedly hits you hard, then you hear the running brass and strings.
Part II.1 Introduction - atmospheric, mysterious, and almost eerie.
Part II.2 moving into Part II.3 - end of the Circle of Adolescents and into the Glorification of the Chosen One, the pounding here is unbelievably powerful and visceral. The brass are spectacular here, as well as the percussion again. The dissonance and rhythm here pack a punch!
Part II.4 & 5 Evocation of the Ancestors and Ritual of the Ancestors - we hear a fanfare with an underlying lurking pulse…(did John Williams take some ideas for his music for Jaws?). The distant brass call out a marching tune that is foreboding and baleful. Then it arrives in full violence, creepy, wailing, then followed and accompanied by strings and woodwinds. Scary.
Part II.6 Sacrificial Dance - Pure rhythmic, primal music with brass and woodwind again, the brass raw and pulsing. The descending theme on brass is ominous, like you might expect before a sacrifice. The percussion thump, cymbals are heard clearly. It is like an orgy type of dance with the brass heard over the top of the strings and woodwinds. A rhythm begins at about the 4’00” mark that continues until the end when it ends with a very brief, but firm climax.
If you don’t feel exhausted by the end, you aren’t listening. This performance keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the playing itself is fearless and done with abandon. It captures more than any other recording the terror and energy that was intended with this music in my opinion.
There are a few other recordings that come close, or that take a different or more nuanced but still valid approach to this music. The versions below are certainly worth hearing too:
The Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Pierre Monteux (the conductor that premiered the work in 1913) on RCA, recorded in 1951. Although not as violent or primal, Monteux has great clarity and structure, highlighting the varied orchestration and colors.
The New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein, recorded in 1958 by CBS/Columbia (now Sony). Considered one of the classic recordings, and one of the first in stereo. Savage in nature, playing well into Bernstein’s emotional hands. Much better than Bernstein’s subsequent recordings.
The Philharmonia led by conductor Igor Markevitch, recorded in 1959 at Abbey Road in London by EMI (now Warner). One of the very best versions, another classic. The sound is a bit compromised, but still very enjoyable. Flexibility, precision, and drama underline Markevitch’s understanding of the score.
The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez, made for CBS/Columbia (now Sony) in 1969. Many listeners still regard this recording as the best Rite to be put down. It is impressive in pristine sound for its time, the precision, accuracy and virtuosity of the playing is astonishing. Boulez was a bit of an iconoclast, but revered Stravinsky and definitely takes a more logical and structured approach, never letting the madness get completely out of control. Boulez also made a second, also very good recording of the Rite with the Clevelanders later with Deutsche Grammophon.
The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie conducted by Peter Eotvos recorded by Budapest Music in 2006. A bit difficult to find, though I was able to stream it on Spotify. This is a fantastic recording and performance by the German Youth Philharmonic led by full-time acclaimed composer and part-time conductor Peter Eotvos. This comes to the closest to the Tilson Thomas recording in its abandon, brutality, terror, and unearthliness. Great sound. A triumphant recording that needs to be heard.
Wishing you health and happiness until the next installment. Thank you for reading!
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Notes:
Brennan, Gerald. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris. All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide. All Media Guide. Pp. 1335-1336. Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.
Lunday, Elizabeth. Secret Lives of Great Composers. Frederic Chopin. Pp. 216-218. Quirk Books, Philadelphia. 2009.
Schonberg, Harold C. The Lives of the Great Composers (Revised Edition). Pp. 494-496. W. W. Norton & Company, New York. 1981.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring