Gor Stravinskiy

The repertoire includes such classics as Tchaikovsky‘s "Eugene Onegin" and "Swan Lake" and works by Mozart, Verdi and Rossini. Other popular productions are Massenet‘s ballet "Manon" and the operas "Don Juan" by Mozart, "War and Peace" by Prokofiev and Wagner‘s "Das Rheingold". The latest productions are Tchaikovsky‘s "The Nutcracker" Puccini‘s "La Boheme" and Verdi‘s "Macbeth". The most famous Russian ballet companies are; Tatchkine, St. Petersburg, Bolshoi companies just to name a few of the most famous.

Mime should be used only when the ballet’s style dictates it, in other cases the dancer’s whole body, not only the hands, should be used to communicate.

When one thinks of a ballet they hear soft rhythmic notes and see elegantly dancing ballerinas softly tip-toeing around the stage. This is also what people in early 1900’s expected to see when they planned to attend a ballet. However, a couple of motivated artists in 1913 literally planned to change the design of ballet, music and dance forever. On May 29, 1913 a ballet named The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris, France. The original title as it translates from Russian to French is; Le Sacre du Printemps, meaning the rite of spring, but the literal translation from Russian to English means “Sacred Spring”. The ballet and music were composed by Igor Stravinsky, with the help of Nicholas Roerich, who proposed the general idea behind the

The first of Igor Stravinsky's three famous early ballets, The Firebird is the most traditional and derivative. While The Firebird, similar to Petrushka and The Rite Of Spring, is unquestionably one of Stravinsky's masterpieces, if considered strictly historically it can be, with some justice, viewed as warmed-over Rimsky-Korsakov (the device of contrasting a folkloristic, diatonic style representing human characters, with a highly chromatic style reserved for depicting the supernatural had its most conspicuous use in Rimsky's

Listening to Music class has taught me a new way to listen and enjoy music. I have learned how to differentiate the melodies, rhythms, and instruments in a song. It has also introduced me to different genres in the music world, aside from what is usually played on the radio. I can now attend any concert, listen to any genre, or watch any ballet and easily recognize the many specific aspects the music being played has. Ballets are very interesting to me. The audience is able to enjoy the music being played as it is telling a story, and being acted out through the performer’s body language. In the two ballets, The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker, a great story is told in both referencing the many great dynamics music has. These two specific ballets are written by different composers, and each one of them have certain conditions they were written under. As well as different receptions, popularity, and development. The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker’s differences has made some sort of an impact in the performing world back then as well as now.

He was so impressed by Stravinsky's promise as a composer that he invited him to join his small group of artistic assistants. For the rest of the 1909 season Diaghilev asked Stravinsky to compose various pieces of ballet music. Then, in 1910, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to compose his new ballet, The Firebird.

Mrs. Farrell’s book is quite technical when it comes to the lengthy descriptions of the dances she rehearses and performs; from a dancer’s view these varied conclusions of the types of movements she was dancing is quite astonishing. In fact, it adds a whole new level to the imagination that can come alive in a person’s thoughts when they read an expressive book. Although the technical explanations will excited, astound, and reveal how much passion and deep meaning ballet had in Suzanne Farrell’s life, but a reader, who may not be involved in the arts will be unfamiliar with the ballet and musical terms in

“The Rite of Spring” was certainly the most controversial piece of orchestral music. The piece, composed by Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky, included lots of uncommon musical elements. But was it really that uncommon? The world-changing ballet was so controversial when it debuted in 1913, because it completely contradicted the common rhythmic and harmonic languages of most of the music of the time. Stravinsky’s music, however, was based off early classical music and other compositions written before, where these composers were also accused of composing controversial music, plus Stravinsky’s early life experiences impacted his music.

Sergei Lifar noted in his article that Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty were retained in Diaghilev’s (founder of the Ballet Russes) repertory in early 20th century, even though these productions were rather unpopular in Paris during that period. Today, these Russian ballets from Tchaikovsky are

The music of Stravinsky has always been “ahead of time” in the way of using new and different ways of presenting music. His early ballets such as Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring being a great example of his modernism and will to compose music which is both innovative and shocking. For this essay I have chosen to write about The Firebird (1910) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Firebird was Stravinsky’s first Ballet and his first composition that reached many people because of its modernism and exoticism. The Rite of Spring is still renowned for its portrayal of primitivism, a concept that was accentuated by the riot that happened at its premiere.

The Swam Lake and The Rite of Spring are two different types of ballet that expressed a form of art. The Swam Lake is a typical ballet that is very classy and elegant. The dance moves are smooth and delicate. In addition, the music is sensual and calm. The whole performance is beautiful to watch and graceful. However, The Rite of Spring is the total opposite. In this ballet there is a lot of expression shown throughout the performance. All the female dancers play a big role and illustrate an atmosphere of fear. This ballet shows a play with many symbolism. For example, the red cloth that gets passed by every female to dancer to show what female will get pick for the ritual. They also in their dance show nervousness, fear, and being vulnerable.

The magical, romantic and dark plight of the swan maiden is the topic of folktales across many cultures and generations. A young woman takes the form of a swan and a young man falls in love with the half animal beauty. Greek, Hindu, Arabian, Irish and French myths alike have shared this motif. And thus, the story in Swan Lake, one of the most famous ballets of all time, is not a new one. However, seeing this story unfold on stage, watching the ballerinas mimic birds in their dance and listening to the accompanying music by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky proved to be a novel and enchanting retelling of this antique tale.

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is a representative work of avant-garde music. Consisting of 16 dances, the work features primitive, pagan rituals celebrating the arrival of spring, where a young girl is sacrificed by dancing herself to death. Most dances have an abrupt and violent ending, emphasising the unpredictable, primal character. The stomping cluster chord, based on a bi-tonal combination of E♭ superimposed on an E major chord is the focal point of the whole work. Stravinsky’s experimental character is highlighted by the use of cross rhythms, the sheer force of dissonance, constant changes of accents and metres, and the exploration of various orchestral colours and sonorities.

Igor Stravinsky was born June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum, Russia. While studying law, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a Russian composer and the most influential member of the composer group known as The Five. Korsakov allegedly told him he should study music. He continued to study under Korsakov his death in 1908. Stravinsky never had another teacher but caught the likes of many Russian composers like Sergei Diaghilev, impresario of the famed Ballets Russes, who allowed him to compose a ballet. Among his other compositions nothing compared to his next one under Diaghilev. The result was the voluptuous and impressionistic, The Firebird in 1910, and later in 1911, Petrushka. His next ballet would “ignite the most famous riot in the history of music. With its savage rhythms, absence of melody, and barbaric energy, The Rite of Spring marks the true beginnings of Twentieth Century music, and even today never fails to thrill or amaze listeners” (Sherrane).

Igor Stravinsky is known as one of the most important and influential composers of the twentieth century. Igor was born in Lomonosow, Russia on June 17, 1882 to Anna Kholodovsky and Fyodor Stravinsky. When Stravinsky was only three he witnessed a musician at a Russian fair singing, clicking his tongue, and making armpit noises. Igor was so excited to go try it at home. This was one of Stravinsky's first memory of music. Igor's childhood was not a good memory for him. He felt hated and neglected. Igor recalled that his schooldays no one had real attraction for him and he was always lonely. The only thing that got him through it was music and his piano lessons. In 1890, Igor heard his first orchestral performance "The Sleeping Beauty." He was awestruck at the grace of the piece. That performance fueled his interest in music even more. When he was fifteen, he had mastered Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto in G minor.