Sorry that it's not embedded, I couldn't figure out how (I'm awful with technology).
REASONS WHY YOU MUST KNOW THIS:
1) As mentioned in the "Musicking" article, this piece (a ballet) caused a riot at its premiere in Paris nearly 100 years ago. Nowadays, it is considered one of the most influential and fantastic pieces of the 20th century. It's a brilliant example of how attitudes towards music and/or specific pieces can change over time (I personally find this piece amazing and tonal compared to the Ligeti piece we're playing in orchestra...then again, in another century, even that might seem tame compared to whatever new styles of music emerge).
2) The bassoon solo in the beginning is super famous. It's way high, and I read that the composer Saint-Saens, who attended the premiere, stormed out of the hall when he heard it because he thought it was so orchestrationally wrong (who knows if that's true, but it's funny haha).
3) This is considered one of the most difficult pieces to play ever (I saw the Chicago Symphony play it over the summer - AMAZING!!!). Knowing what it sounds like would probably help if you ever get to play it. Plus it's just cool to listen to.
4) It's just an all-around awesome piece and I love it, so I like to force it down people's throats =D. I strongly encourage you to check out the other links and see the whole piece.
Now how did I know you were going to post something along these lines :D
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was sitting in on one of Dr. Speigelberg's theory classes on my audition day and the students were talking about how some of the solo parts in Aaron J. Kernis' 20th century music were next to impossible to play (physically and technically). He then proceeded to explain that many musicians thought the same thing regarding this exact bassoon solo, which in today's terms is almost comical since every student and professional bassoonist is expected to perform this excerpt. It's just really interesting how composers can sometimes stretch the limits and make something that seems incorrect and impossible something that is truly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI have no trouble believing that this piece, so extraordinarily powerful, caused a riot. The first piece I played with an orchestra, "Rite of Spring" is probably my favorite orchestral piece too Dan! At times tentative, at times violent, at times uncertain, it evokes the full spectrum of emotions in me. I would venture to say that it is impossible to listen to the "Rite of Spring" and not be moved.
ReplyDeleteThe Rite of Spring is a great example of a piece whose "meaning," at least socially, has changed tremendously with time. Revolutionary, offensive, riot-inducing, composers storming out . . . and now, "oh, that's nice." And what must have sounded like a painful birth struggle--that opening bassoon solo--when people first tried to play it, now comes off with polished ease. You can hear pretty and predictable performances of it, all the rough edges smoothed out.
ReplyDeleteInteresting degrees0of-separation anecdote: my first ear training (musicianship) teacher at Juilliard, Renee Longy attended that first performance, but was so sick of talking about it she wouldn't anymore by the time I'd met her.