The Rite of Spring

Gillian Moore

$35

Hardback

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English

Head of Zeus
01 April 2019

Ballet; Music; 20th century & contemporary classical music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Social & cultural history

Series: The Landmark Library

The story behind the scandalous first performance of one of the most influential works in the history of music, as part of the stunning Landmark Library series.

On 29 May 1913, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, a new ballet by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, received its premiere. Many of the cultural big names of Paris were there, or were rumoured to have been there: Debussy, Ravel, Proust, Gertrude Stein, Picasso. When the curtain rose on a cast of frenziedly stamping dancers, a near-riot ensued, ensuring the evening would enter the folklore of modernism. While it was the dancing that triggered the mayhem, Stravinsky's score contained shocks enough, with its innovations in form, rhythm, dissonance and its sheer sonic power. The Rite of Spring would achieve recognition in its own right as a concert piece, and is now seen as one of the most influential works of the 20th century.

Gillian Moore explores the cultural climate that created The Rite, tells the story of the creation of the music and the ballet and provides a guide to the music itself, showing how a scandalous novelty of 1913 became a 21st-century concert staple. As well as considering its influence on 20th-century classical composers, she probes The Rite's impact on film music (including scores for Star Wars and Jaws); its extensive influence on jazz musicians (including Charlie Parker) and by artists as diverse as Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa and The Pet Shop Boys.

By: Gillian Moore
Imprint: Head of Zeus
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: 16
Dimensions: Height: 200mm, Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9781786696823
ISBN 10: 1786696827
Series: The Landmark Library
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 April 2019
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Gillian Moore is Director of Music at London's Southbank Centre. She writes and broadcasts regularly about music and can often be heard on BBC Radio 3. She was awarded a CBE for services to music in 2018.

Reviews for The Rite of Spring

'If Moore doesn't convince you of the epochal significance of Stravinsky's brilliant, outrageous fire-starter, you must be damn hard to please. With an intoxicating tone which combines academic authority, rich, detailed description and pure thrill, she explains the history of the piece, the wild myths and characters which come with it, and the explosive impact of its first riotous performance in Paris, 1913' Big Issue. 'A stylish and concise account of the event ... It's one of the strengths of Moore's finely illustrated monograph that it supplies chapter and verse, not only on the score's background and artistic context but also on the amazing subsequent reach of [the] music' Guardian.