The Rite of Spring
Posted by Chris @ 3:48 pm
Another Saturday night, another of Liv's orchestra concerts! However this time it was special, because after the relatively dull Schumann Symphony no. 1 in B flat 'Spring' we were treated to a fantastic second half.
First came Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by Bach, orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski (more on this is a second) and then The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky.
Wow, what a piece of music. I've listened to a bit of classical music, thanks to my dad listening to a lot of it during my childhood, and we've been to a few classical concerts now too, but this simply knocks the socks of anything I've heard before. I loved it, Dawn loved it, I was sat there smiling whilst listening to it. I must have looked like a mental, but I didn't care, because it was fantastic. It is raw, challenging, thundering, abrupt, I'm not surprised it caused a riot at its debut. If you've always thought classical music a bit dull, a bit unengaging then give this a listen. Even if it is the only piece of “classical” music you listen too, listen to it! You may not like it, not everyone does, but I loved it. Thank you Sheffield Symphony Orchestra for playing it!
The second piece I mentioned was great too. Stokowski's arrangement for orchestra of this original pipe organ piece is a variation on a theme, containing 20 variations, and each variation builds and builds until the most fantastic ending. Give it a listen if you can.
On giving things a listen too, this site seems good for getting hold of free classical music recordings - Classic Cat. And surprisingly on YouTube you can get videos of Stokowski's performances. Of course these may not seem as amazing as seeing them performed live, but that's your loss, not mine!!
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