1. Chapter 20: The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism
Stravinsky: The Primacy of Rhythm

2. Key Terms
Ballet
Fauve
Ostinato

3. Stravinsky: The Primacy of Rhythm
Stravinsky began as Russian nationalist
Influenced by his mentor, kuchka member Rimsky-Korsakov
Three famous early ballets for Paris
Steady progress from nationalism to a powerful, hard-edged avant-garde style
More & more abstract use of folk material
The Firebird – beautifully colored folk music
Petrushka – hard, satirical portrait of carnival barker & his puppets with folk & pop tunes
Rite of Spring – pagan rites brutally depicted

4. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Influence of mentor Rimsky-Korsakov
First success with Ballets Russes in Paris
The Firebird, Petrushka, & Rite of Spring
Wrote many ballets – Pulcinella, Agon, etc.
Leading Neoclassical composer after 1920
Symphony of Psalms, Rake’s Progress, etc.
Moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s
Assisted by Robert Craft from 1950s to death
Remarkable group of late 12-tone works!
Requiem Canticles, Threni, etc.

5. Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring
Used a deliberately barbaric style
To depict primitive rites & ritual sacrifice
Crude use of folk-tune fragments
“Unemotional,” grindingly dissonant music
Draws remarkable colors from huge orchestra
Rhythm is the lifeblood of this work
Visceral, unpredictable rhythms
First performance caused a riot
Provocative, non-balletic choreography
Violent, brutal, dissonant sounds

6. The Rite of Spring Introduction
“Fanfare” for bassoon in very high range
Extreme registers exploited for new tone colors
Many short melodic fragments
Fanfares for oboe, piccolo & bass clarinet
Frequently repeated, but never the same twice
Piled on top of each other to create dissonant climax of activity
Bassoon “fanfare” returns at the end

7. The Rite of Spring Dance of the Adolescents (1)
Dancers entered with accented chords
32 repetitions of dissonant chord with heavy, irregular accents played by 8 French horns …
Chords alternate with 4-note ostinato

8. The Rite of Spring Dance of the Adolescents (2)
Folk song motives are laid over rhythm
Motives repeat, & new ones pile on top of old
Different length & rhythm for each repetition – an irregular ostinato
Creates climax by piling more & more motives, ostinatos, & rhythms on top of each other

9. The Rite of Spring The Game of Abduction
Brutal, violent rhythms here
Asymmetric, with frequently changing meter
LOUD – heavy brass, sliding horn calls, & frantic pounding on the timpani
Alternation between scurrying figures & heavy booming ones

10. The Rite of Spring Round Dances of Spring (1)
Desolate, empty feeling in introduction
Piccolo clarinet & alto flute two octaves apart
Slow, dragging dance follows
Hypnotic meter created by heavy downbeat & added or skipped beats
Uses folk tune fragment from earlier section

11. The Rite of Spring Round Dances of Spring (2)
Relentless buildup to overpowering climax
Trombone glissandos with gong, cymbals, & bass drum
Sudden, fast coda with violent interjections
Brief return of p bassoon fanfare

12. Conclusions New language based on rhythm
Exhilarating, irregular rhythms & meter
Complex textures pile up rhythms & motives
Strong reaction against Romanticism
Tough, precise, barbaric music with no Romantic sentiment or emotionalism
Melody reduced to motives & fragments
Frequent dissonance as motives pile up
Tonality anchored by ostinato & pedal tones, not by diatonic scales
Extraordinary ear for new colors