STRAVINSKY
RITE OF SPRING (1913)
FIREBIRD SUITE (1919)
SCHERZO À LA RUSSE - Symphonic Version (1944)
TANGO NO.72 - Orchestral Version* (1940)
Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer
*orchestration by Felix Guenther, approved by Stravinsky and first performed by Benny Goodman
The recipe seems simple: take a simple melody of six notes and repeat it in the same order, accentuating a different note each time. For example:
1 2 3 4 2 5
1 2 3 4 2 5
1 2 3 4 2 5
Here we have the beginning of the Sacre du Printemps (with a short transition between lines 2 and 3)!
Next step: add a rhythmic pattern and repeat it many times. Prepare a few of these and combine them thoroughly until you get a polyrhythmic and polytonal mix! Finished.
With his simple recipe, Stravinsky changed the world. Many plants grew from this seed: beat, rock, rap, minimal music…
A pagan, sacrifice ritual with shocking music and shocking choreography: three exceptional talents - Roerich, Nijinsky and Stravinsky - brought about an artistic revolution with a masterstroke. 100 years later it still sounds fresh, pagan, scary, new and beautiful.
Iván Fischer (from liner notes)
Channel Classics Records SACD CCSSA32112