The Rite of Spring

A 1913 ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, depicting a pagan community’s ritual sacrifice of a young woman.

Irregular Meter: A rhythmic organization in which beat groupings or accents shift rather than repeating evenly. Shifting accents and changing meters drive the ballet’s unstable pulse.
Igor Stravinsky: A Russian-born composer whose works include The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring. He composed the score and developed its musical design.
Premiere of The Rite of Spring: The ballet’s first performance, staged in Paris on 29 May 1913 by the Ballets Russes. The premiere’s audience uproar became inseparable from the ballet’s early reputation.
Modernism: A broad movement that rejected inherited artistic conventions in favor of new forms and methods. The ballet’s sound and movement became emblematic of modernist rupture.
Polyrhythm: The simultaneous use of contrasting rhythmic patterns. Overlapping patterns create the dense, propulsive texture of the score.
Vaslav Nijinsky: A Polish-Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, celebrated for his performances and early modernist ballets. He created the original choreography, now known largely through later reconstructions.
The Rite of Spring (score): Stravinsky’s orchestral score for the 1913 ballet, later widely performed as a concert work. The score circulated beyond the original choreography and became a modern orchestral landmark.
Riot at the Rite: The audience disturbance reported at the 1913 Paris premiere of The Rite of Spring. It turned the premiere into a lasting story about modern art and public outrage.
Bitonality: The simultaneous use of two musical keys. Clashing tonal centers help make the orchestral harmonies sound abrasive.
Sergei Diaghilev: A Russian impresario who founded the Ballets Russes company in Paris. He commissioned the ballet and brought its composer, choreographer, and designers together.

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