This music is dramatic and so cutting edge and is from...1913. It's so modern and jarring and at times discordant. It is music that was composed for a ballet, the theme being Pagan ritual, but I find it frenetic and it evokes industrial machines spitting out metal parts and workers trying to keep up--kind of like the movie Metropolis.
Here's a bit from Wikipedia about The Rite of Spring and composer Igor Stravinsky's reaction to its reception.
The complex music and violent dance steps depicting fertility rites first drew catcalls and whistles from the crowd. At the start with the opening bassoon solo, the audience began to boo loudly due to the slight discord in the background notes behind the bassoon's opening melody. There were loud arguments in the audience between supporters and opponents of the work. These were soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. The unrest in the audience eventually degenerated into a riot. The Paris police arrived by intermission, but they restored only limited order. Chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance, and Stravinsky himself was so upset on account of its reception that he fled the theater in mid-scene, reportedly crying.[3]
Can you imagine people's feelings being so inflamed these days at an orchestral concert that they would actually riot over the very notes?
Does this knock your socks off? It does mine...
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2 comments:
(Popped over from your comment on my blog.)
Wow, that conductor was really getting down, LOL! I've never been to the orchestra, but I really want to. We are 30 miles from a small university and 70 miles from a major one, and they're both known for their concerts.
Hi jennisee,
If you get the chance, go to a concert. Live orchestral music is stirring and dramatic and moving...it's a great night out.
Yes, that conductor was getting down!
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