Episode 10: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky

[@ClassicsExplained]

Download Apple Music Classical, the streaming service for classical music to discover more about Igor Stravinsky. Click the link on the description.

[@jamesmcelwain342]

"If that's a bassoon, then I'm a baboon." damn how long do you think he'd been saving that one?

[@Bacopa68]

I think it was some kind of overblowing technique that raised things an octave to give the bassoon much of the range of the oboe. You've heard a similar technique many times on saxophones in seventies and eighties pop music.

[@mattmelillo8265]

@@Bacopa68 Bassoonist here! so that's kind of true in the sense that getting anything above the first octave and a half on any wind instrument is just pressing keys down so that they naturally overblow into a higher harmonic, but the instrument is very much designed to do that.

[@aronasmundurjonasson3175]

Camille Saint-Saëns was French, and in French, this would translate to "Si c'est un basson, je suis un babouin" and we lose the rhyme. Probably he said something like "Si c'est un basson, je suis un bouffon". Surely he was good at one-liners.

[@alucard347]

Considering the fact that he wasn't even there, I guess that he wasn't saving that one.

[@ClassicsExplained]

@@alucard347 is probably right - in truth, there is much dispute over whether CSS actually attended the premiere. But the likelihood is that he attended the concert premiere a year later and that the anecdote stems from that event.

[@charlieorjanca]

Ravel shouting out "Genius! Genius!" is probably the most Ravel thing I've heard of

[@ClassicsExplained]

Haha - I know right!

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

And Debussy. Don't forget about Claud.

[@yagiz885]

Same with Mr. Debussy..

[@DavidRozenblatt]

Why?

[@Bobbnoxious]

Debussy played the first half of "The Rite" on piano four hands with Stravinsky for Diaghilev, before the ballet was produced. But he wasn't known for giving compliments, and later had snarky things to say about Stravinsky. Ravel was a more sympathetic admirer.

[@wormswithteeth]

Imagine throwing hands at the ballet.

[@emery1057]

Lmao

[@0hn0haha]

@Sound Mind i mean, it was the pop of it's day

[@shorty-music-123]

Well, this stuff was like the early 1900s equivalent of death metal, if I were there I'd mosh to it too

[@silverkitty2503]

might be an over exaggeration but it WOULD make a GREAT story.

[@riograndedosulball248]

I won't even talk about the brawl. *Two mfs called a duel over it* Man I love that historical period

[@jenniferschillig3768]

I imagine some of that audience that night in Paris read the title "The Rite of Spring" and thought they'd be getting a lovely little confection of graceful nymphs in gauzy tutus and crowns of flowers...and what they got was a stark, brutal depiction of ancient Russian life with harsh, jagged rhythms and ungraceful choreography, culminating in a human sacrifice. At least the work's come to be appreciated for the ahead-of-its-time masterpiece it is, but given what the audience was used to, and probably expected, I can see where they'd be rattled...

[@thatguywiththea3015]

It gets even better when you realize the first act of the night was Les Sylphides.

[@jenniferschillig3768]

@@thatguywiththea3015 Oh MAN.

[@Sacto1654]

It's almost as radical as someone used to "Tin Pan Alley" music from the 1940's listening to _gangsta rap_ . It was that radical a change. I'm actually kind of amazed that Igor Stravinsky didn't get "tar and feathered" out of Paris first.

[@viddork]

I'd say, even today most people are pretty rattled the first time they hear it. I don't know if I would ever have wanted to listen to it a second time if it weren't for Fantasia, and how many people get introduced to it that way these days?

[@alucard347]

@@Sacto1654 then again, people reacted pretty well to the music. Most comments about the music were "the audience was so loud I couldn't hear the music" and "it was good, but the dance sucked". There was no riot. This video tells the infamous legend that surrounded for a long time the first public concert of this piece, but most of those are inaccurate. Many of the composers quoted in this video, such as saint saens, were never there. Most of the reviews at the time claimed that the core issue was the dancing, although there certainly were mixed reviews about the music.

[@victoriap1561]

Rich parisians:"Russians are unsophisticated brutish people" Also the rich parisians :start a riot during a ballet

[@crapadopalese]

That is what the video is saying exactly at its end, why are you rewording that as though it's your original thought?

[@slawless9665]

@@crapadopalese Two people can have the same original thought, it's possible Victoria Pires wrote their comment before even watching the video all the way to its end. Or not, maybe they're just plagiarizing in the comments section of KZbin for imaginary internet points. Doesn't bother me much either way.

[@crapadopalese]

@@slawless9665 you didn't really make any clear point in your comment.

[@seaoggo9574]

@@crapadopalese i think he/she is just making a comment about it, I mean why not but whatever dude

[@sierra3644]

@@crapadopalese bro its a meme calm down

[@sebastianboeddinghaus3505]

Stravinsky: _writes a somewhat unusual piece_ Parisians: Anyway so I started blastings

[@pietrayday9915]

LOL! To be fair, after seeing the Joffrey Ballet as-close-as-possible reconstruction of the ballet, it is more than a "somewhat unusual piece" - it's pretty damned weird even all these years later, in spite of pop-cultural osmosis allowing us to absorb a lot of work that was inspired by this ballet. For an audience who had never seen or heard anything like it before, this must have been shocking in ways we can't really imagine. For us, this stuff is nearly normalized now: Roerich's backdrops and costumes are not a lot weirder than a lot of the things done by modern movie producers inspired by modern art coloured by Roerich's original paintings, and Roerich's work itself has cast a long shadow over a lot of horror imagery (H.P. Lovecraft was a huge fan of Roerich's paintings, using them as direct inspiration for such stories as "At the Mountains of Madness"! This very ballet appears to have been an indirect inspiration for Lovecraft's now cliched weird horror trope of a book whose contents can drive the reader mad, by way of Lovecraft's repeated homages to Robert W. Chambers' 'The King in Yellow', a collection of surreal horror stories loosely connected by the framing device of a play which drove its audiences mad, which in turn was surely a nod to 'The Rite of Spring'....) Poor Nijinsky's choreography probably wouldn't look far out of place in the mosh-pits of a metal or punk show today, but seems bizarre in the context of a ballet circa 1917, and trying to picture what that dancing must have looked like to audiences accustomed to more traditional ballets must surely only give us a hint of what the audience reaction would have been - look again at the dances, and keep in mind that Naijinsky's mental health would completely deteriorate into schizophrenia a couple years later, to the point where he would be confined raving to an asylum for the rest of his life, and the picture becomes a little clearer! And Stravinsky's score and orchestration would fit right into a modern horror movie soundtrack, but when you consider what a horror movie soundtrack sounded like in 1913, before avant-garde music became a normal part of the horror movie experience starting in the '50s and '60s, Stravinsky's music for this ballet is far weirder than modern audiences give it credit for! And then, this video does at least hint at some other, less obvious aspects that must have contributed to the riots: the social and political aspects that pitted the Parisian West against the Russian East, and conservative traditionalist ballet establishment against radical Bohemian artistes: it sounds like there was tension already there in the audience, a ticking time-bomb just waiting for an excuse to exaggerate reactions, escalate tempers, and set off a violent audience riot - 'The Rite of Spring' seems to have delivered that excuse in spades! This ballet seems to have been like throwing lighter fluid onto a smouldering spark in danger of bursting into a blazing fire.... Certainly, it looks only somewhat unusual to us today, having grown up in a world where the innovations in 'The Rite of Spring' have become normal parts of our pop culture by way of horror movies and rock'n'roll since the 1950s and 1960s. But in 1917 Paris, this ballet would have been easily weird enough to stir up an outrage! (It kind of makes one wonder what it would take to get a similar result today: on one hand, modern audiences surely seem sort of jaded to something like 'The Rite of Spring'... on the other hand, keeping in mind the social and political angle mentioned above, it is perhaps a little easier to understand the reaction: for example, modern audiences were nearly that upset over the new 'Star Wars' films, 'Prometheus', the 'Ghostbusters' remake, etc., is it really so outlandish to think that just the wrong movie in just the wrong hands might ultimately spark brawls between modern audience members?) All that said, it's difficult to imagine any performance so shocking today that it could spark a riot in an objective audience, and the image of those little French ballet critics starting the blasting over this oddity of a ballet is pretty damned funny :)

[@vogelvogeltje]

“Blastings” 😂

[@Rgoid]

Disney: Bring in the dinosaurs.

[@lambdacalculus3505]

the rite of spring was the first punk song tbh

[@ovrava]

ofc. It was the first metal song, the first punk song, the first techno song, and many other first songs.

[@felixdittrich5469]

@@ovrava Ah well first metal was Bruckner though.

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@felixdittrich5469 first metal was shostakovich Vivaldi, Bach, and Beethoven was just rock

[@felixdittrich5469]

@@forbiddenfursona Have you heard any of Bruckner symphonies? He composed almost 100 years before Shostakovich and his style is uncompareable to anyone before him.

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@felixdittrich5469 I personally haven't heard Bruckner's works yet I just heard snippets of it in Twoset's videos

[@justanotherpiccplayer3511]

I wanna write a piece that makes rich people go that mental, that sounds fun

[@forbiddenfursona]

I am making one rn It might even piss off the conservatives lmfaoooo

[@ma0487]

@@forbiddenfursona I'd love to hear it haha

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@ma0487 it's my 2nd and 3rd symphonies I am gonna work on soon Symph. 2 "2020", with a heavy stravinsky and shostakovich insp. Symph. 3 "Lagebiteque", with a heavy tchaikovsky and shostakovich insp.

[@forbiddenfursona]

@@ma0487 rn, I am making my 1st, as a test run before I actually start working in the 12 movement behemoth, which is my 2nd symph.

[@ma0487]

@@forbiddenfursona whoo impressive! I was always rubbish at composition so the fact you casually just mention writing whole symphonies is crazy to me lol. Good luck! :)

[@MyRegularNameWasTaken]

You missed my favorite part about the circle dance! It's chaotic and difficult to follow for a reason: the girls are all trying their best to follow along, and the first to mess up the dance twice (I think it's twice) is the one who gets sacrificed. As you watch, you can see some of them stumble or get out of time for a moment. It's actually written into the choreography. So when the sacrificial dancer is chosen, she's chosen because she messed up for the last time.

[@ClassicsExplained]

I know, I love that very bit too. Just a bit too much detail to squeeze into the video though. But I really enjoy watching how different troupes interpret the choreography for that dance

[@debug8377]

this is a not-so-daily reminder to always practice the circle dance so you won't ever get sacrificed

[@because_the_internet]

It's pretty difficult coming up with different ways to say 'This was excellent' but you guys just *insist* on continuing to be excellent.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you for your heart warming words!

[@JuannyBoy2023]

Couldn't agree more!

[@ferretyluv]

This analysis explains why Disney made this song take place during the extinction of the dinosaurs. Primitiveness, violence, subtlety, death and rebirth. The artistic director for that number really got that feeling from this piece. I personally can’t unsee the dinosaurs fighting when I hear it because it’s just so iconic and works perfectly.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Yep! It's fascinating that. Apparently, Stravinsky wasn't too happy with the dinos ;)!

[@dimasgirl2749]

Well, dinosaur battles are more entertaining than a young lady being forced to dance herself to death. That Stegosaurus had a better chance against the T-Rex than the Chosen One did against her own people.

[@sydposting]

@@ClassicsExplained I recall that he was also very unhappy about how they restructured the piece too! It removed the Spring Rounds section entirely and inserted the Dance of the Earth at the end. It was very disorientating when I watched Fantasia again as an adult, I can't imagine how Stravinsky must have felt about it.

[@GlensAudioRestoration]

@@ClassicsExplained And Ligeti hated the use of his music in 2001, but who would know of him if Kubrick hadn't chosen it?

[@Japox85]

Same

[@SpookyDisneyPrincess]

I have mostly Lithuanian heritage, and Rite of Spring has always been one of my favorite music pieces ever. Finding out that the melodies were inspired by Lithuanian folk music brings me an immense joy! No wonder I've always felt such strong love for this music, its like my ancestral roots calling out to me

[@ClassicsExplained]

Wonderful!

[@robotkarel]

This ancestral roots are calling all of us

[@hlcepeda]

Stravinsky (as with Bartok, but much more so for Bartok) did at times borrow then expand on folk music. And Stravinsky did tend to borrow this and that (early in his career) from his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov (noticeable in Rite of Spring).

[@chalkedlines8960]

It's a truly amazing and powerful piece of music. I can't hear it without getting emotional. The first time I heard it performed live could only be described as a sort of religious experience for me, as hokey as that may sound. It just goes straight through you.

[@ДаниилВасильев-э8п]

This is not true. Stravinsky was inspired by Russian folklore.

[@moniquelegarda1842]

The Rite of Spring is equal parts irresistible and disturbing for me.

[@MargeDooley-iu9jv]

Props to the dancers for continuing on in the face of such a disrespectful and rambunctious audience. Props to the orchestra as well obviously, but I can’t imagine how intimidating and rather frightening an upset audience would be to those on the stage. These dancers were committed and I applaud them.

[@cedipedi]

It‘s important to know, that not the music but the choreography of the ballet was the reason for all the fights!

[@desultorydilletante4120]

Yes! There is a video of the original choreographed ballet on KZbin. I saw it a long time ago so don't have its URL. The music is great, but the dancing is deplorable.

[@njlauren]

@@desultorydilletante4120 yep,you are correct. The riot itself was staged. I saw an awesome version of this where the maiden instead of dancing herself to death as a sacrifice, basically loses her virginity to a young guy ( in dance form of course), it was actually beautiful. The original made me want to chant 'mazola corn goodness'

[@Bacopa68]

The closest thing I've ever seen to this was the US debut of Akhnaten by Philip Glass by the Houston Grand Opera. An earlier version of the opera had gotten mixed reviews in Stuttgart, and it was just about to fail even worse in Houston. The main issue was that the first two acts had people wrestling in slow motion in the background. They also had brickmakers and wheat winnowers on stage. When Act 2 opened up with the brickmakers and winnowers still there, we were just barely having it. First time the wheat winnowers threw up their wheat the audience clapped. It almost fell apart right there. We calmed down and behaved, and then we got the insane loud screamy performance we came for in the next act. I was maybe fourteen at the time. I didn't clap for the wheat. No one clapped for the wheat after the third flip in the second act. If we clapped for the wheat this could have ended Philip Glass.

[@lkj974]

I think the problem was that the fact that it was a ballet attracted a very mixed audience. This reminds me of going to a showing of “Sympathy for the Devil” at Sir George Williams campus in Montreal in the ‘70’s. As you might guess, the movie was about The Rolling Stones and their most famous song. The film was made by Jean Luc Goddard and the film school had been showing his other movies for weeks. When I showed up with my boyfriend I noticed the auditorium was much more crowded than usual. When the lights went down and the movie started the sweet sickly smell of pot filled the theatre: also not usual. After half an hour of standard Jean Luc Goddard cinema treatment the pot smokers were fleeing for the exits bitterly complaining about being swindled and this guy is crazy. At least they didn’t riot.

[@njlauren]

@@lkj974 That is an interesting thought. While there is a large overlap,especially in 1912 Paris, between classical music and ballet patrons, they are very different. I don't think that the Rite of Spring drew something like casual ballet fans. What is interesting is that Diaghelev and Njinsky's ballet russe was known for stretching things, Aprés midi d'une faune shocked audiences w it's sensuality, for example. I think the ballet's choreography grated on them, it was pretty ugly and raw compared to classical ballet form ( just my opinion, I am no ballet expert). Musically I am sure some people didn't like it, but if you look at the story in later performances ppl went to hear the music.via word of mouth, and if you look at the arc of the ballets history it disappeared right after the premiere season, the score on the other hand rapidly became played by orchestras as a stand alone piece, was standard rep by 1920. If the music was the real problem it likely would have ended up like many 'experimental' pieces do, 1 and done

[@chorch78]

As both an animator and a musician, guys...let me tell you, I knew the story, but explaining what Diáguilev, Stravinsky, Roerich and Nijinsky did in 1913 and the riot at the same time, you nailed it!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Love it - thanks so much for the comment

[@TristanMA]

Njinsky had danced Petrushka prior to Choreographing the Rite of Spring.

[@GoulashJosh]

I love Debussy even more when he made an appearance at Rite of Spring.

[@pleinairr]

This channel is the most woefully underappreciated thing on youtube. Thank you for making classical music so accessible to dabblers like me. Your content is absolutely fantastic.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you for your feedback! It's our mission is to make classical music accessible and fun and we're extremely happy that there are so many people who get value from what we do

[@AntiqueBambi]

What I wouldn’t give to have seen this all happen live, can you imagine?

[@Ciara1594]

When the opera The Barber of Seville was first performed it was a complete flop but at the same time it was a success. A stray cat had wandered onto the stage and strutted back and forth in front of the audience. The audience cheered the cat while simultaneously booing the opera. ☺️ 🐈

[@vhanzesp]

So wholesome

[@vicswift2439]

I hope time travel becomes a thing as I’d love to see all this happen

[@viddork]

I've though exactly the same thing so many times ..... Also, Gershwin's premiere of _Rhapsody in Blue._

[@VerilyForsoothEgads]

Imagine if this could happen, the entire audience is all time travel tourists who attend the premier so they can see the riot, and they all riot like they're supposed to so they don't get found out as Time travelers, and that's how the riot actually got started lolz 😂

[@me_is_hobo]

I was literally thinking the same thing

[@watchande]

Now I understand why, since the 1st time I heard this, I automatically started head banging. This is so metal.

[@LazlosPlane]

When asked how he could possibly have written "Le Sacre" Stravinsky replied, "I wrote what I heard. I am the vessel through which the Rite of Spring passed."

[@zonesquestiloveunderworld]

As all true uncompromising visionary artists understand. Only the narcissist believes that he "creates" the art entirely from within his own mind. No, all that is truly beautiful and transcendent is merely channelled through us like a conduit of the eternal music of the universe.

[@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n]

Wow, how profound! Mr. Stravinsky knew when and how to be humble!

[@Lokitty719]

Having just watched a reconstruction of this ballet, where they attempted to use as much of the original choreography as possible, I must say, the depictions of the dancing, especially the chosen one, is very well animated, and also very accurate.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks so much for sharing this and the compliment :)

[@Darkpaint84]

That performance and the riots would be so awesome to witness.

[@cesarvidelac]

First metal composer ever. Love this.

[@jarekwrzosek2048]

Nah, Vivaldi was the first one. Have you heard how fast those violins shred in Four Seasons? Especially Summer!

[@ThiccTropius]

nahhhh not metal.... it gives more a punk rock vibe given I consider the whole ballet to be an anti ballet and is basically a giant middle finger to the classy elite who stereotyped the russian people during that time as primal and not entirely up to a "civilized standard". basically this whole composition and ballet is Stravinsky's way to stick it to the man

[@zonesquestiloveunderworld]

Very, VERY few metal bands come even remotely close to what Stravinsky achieved. In fact, Toby Driver and his various bands (primarily maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot) is the only "metal" composer I can think of who can even slightly compare. Most metal is simplistic and spurious.

[@phantom213]

Wagner!

[@poo2uhaha]

this deserves like 5 million views, such excellent storytelling and animation! Much love from the UK!

[@ClassicsExplained]

THANK YOU! We hope to get there one day :)

[@meganlewis2377]

Are you gonna do Pastoral Symphony?

[@ClassicsExplained]

@@meganlewis2377 great suggestion :)

[@KinodeVGM]

These videos are a godsend for music appreciation

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much!!

[@FlamingCockatiel]

"No freaking dancers." Splendid! Love the humor you've put into something that's so dark. Yes, I know I commented before.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks so much :))

[@darthstarkiller1912]

I grew up watching Disney's "Fantasia" and as a kid I never would've imagined how groundbreaking "Rite of Spring" was in the field of music. It is a masterpiece.

[@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n]

Same here!

[@tristanburgmann8861]

This video made for a great explanation for my 7th grade students... I paused it to make sure they were understanding and they told me "Just keep playing it I wanna keep watching it." So, 7th grader approved! I love that this helped my MIDDLE SCHOOL students love Stravinsky :)

[@riograndedosulball248]

I absolutely love the way that a discussion in the audience, over a ballet piece, immediately leads to a duel being called. The Belle Époque was truly magical

[@ftumschk]

The more I think about it, the more I feel that "The Rite of Spring" is my favourite piece of music, ever. I've seen/heard it performed many times, and I own literally dozens of recordings, but it never ceases to amaze me.

[@LambentOrt]

The first time I heard Rite of Spring was when I was a uni student and was hanging out and drinking at an Irish pub with a bunch of opera students. One of them gave me a tab of acid, then invited me back to their house where they played this amazing piece of music while I hallucinated... 😅. Without knowing anything about the story of the ballet, I saw pulsating, ullulating, overwhelming visions of nature like in William Blake's drawings. I had never heard music like it. It was simply amazing. We also listened to musique concrete and opera (though I can't remember which one). After some time, I had passed out. When I came to, I snuck out quietly. I never saw them again. But Rite of Spring remains one of my favourite pieces of all time.

[@raylong2171]

Sounds alot like what would happen if you presented a punk rock performance to an unknowing diverse crowd.

[@jy7246]

The most friendly way to get in touch with The rite of spring. Thanks for making this amazing video to whom wants to know more about this epic work in the human history. Bless you!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much - our pleasure! Stay tuned for me!

[@MrFlavioaurelio]

Debussy was a genius!!! He could see how great that masterpiece was. Love you even more!!!

[@juliusverkovich6025]

This is midsommar in ballet form lmao love it

[@kirataylore2013]

I was thinking the exact same thing !!

[@maestro3947-b9g]

Couldnt agree more!

[@sampeacaml9307]

Thought the same thing as well while watching the movie.

[@BaragonProductions]

may have been some inspiration from the rite of spring, you do see the scene where thay all dance until they die

[@Rgoid]

Midsommar? I’m surprised you didn’t say the Wicker Man instead.

[@sillylung]

This is the piece of classical music that got me into classical music.

[@emilyglass5313]

Little did Stravinsky realize that nearly 3 decades after this ballet's premiere, Walt Disney would approach him and ask to use the piece in his movie Fantasia and make it about dinosaurs.

[@ClassicsExplained]

And he wasn't too happy with Disney when they re-edited it either!

[@emilyglass5313]

Oh yeah, I heard about that. I didn't even know the actual order the movements were in until I watched the Joffrey Ballet version of it.

[@willlyon7129]

@@ClassicsExplained Disney loves to exploit culture for profit.

[@maryfreebed9886]

All I can see when I hear this is increasingly distressed dinosaurs.

[@als510]

IT WAS TRAUMATIZING AND NOW I REMEMBERED WHY THIS MUSIC MADE ME FEEL SO THIRSTY

[@MrFunguspower]

@@als510 Seriously, the word "traumatizing" gets thrown around too much, it's losing all meaning. But yeah. Certainly was gripping as a kid hahah. Like Watership Down

[@thecraigster8888]

Walt and Mickey give it two thumbs up.

[@vionanatalie]

you should watch Fantasia then!! They created a movie with this piece about dinosaurs:-)

[@desdichado-007]

@@vionanatalie REALLY!?

[@danawinsor1380]

Anyone reading this -- if you haven't seen it already, look for the version by the Joffrey Ballet, which is a restoration of the original choreography by Nijinski. It's one of the most stunning performances I've seen.

[@ClassicsExplained]

The Joffrey Ballet production from the 80s is superb. The creators have done such a fantastic job not only on this ballet but in reconstructing the choreography for many other works. Great stuff

[@wiegraf9009]

The Rite of Spring is one of my faves. It's just my sort of chaos!

[@mrachakravartymhs2168]

Great, educational video! Thank you!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks so much :)

[@iampie6954]

I once watched the Rite of Spring with my siblings and me and one of my brothers decided to emulate the 1913 Parisians and start fighting.

[@mariellouise1]

OMG!!!! I love this! So right on and clever. - must have been MAD to animate! 😵‍💫

[@TristanMA]

The Firebird was Stravinsky's Halloween Drama with designs by Alexander Golovin & Leon Bakst, Choreography by Michel Fokine, and title role danced by Tamara Karsavina. It features one of the most famous finales in all ballet.

[@pnartg]

This video is outstanding! I'm sending it to all my classical-curious friends!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks so much - means so much to us to hear that :)

[@AMTheOcarinaPlayer]

Now I finally know and understand why the “rite of spring” from Disney’s Fantasia with all the dinosaurs 🦕 was SO DANG MESSED UP!!! Thank you!!

[@thepedrothethethe6151]

Finally!. The best ballet by far. A masterpiece of a century.

[@antoniomelo5517]

The avant garde musical revolution

[@captainkielbasa5471]

The edgelord's ballet more like it.

[@_alexcr]

hearing this explained gives me chills + it makes it scaries, i guess goosebumps on every piece were not enough

[@DavidRozenblatt]

I feel it is probably the greatest orchestral piece ever written ;)

[@johnjesberger5676]

Thank you so much for this. Who knew ballet was ever so damned metal.

[@GuillaumeB7]

It's nice to know that Debussy and Ravel loved the work! Now I wonder what Richard Strauss thought of the piece. As the previous leader of the avant-garde on the more expressionist side of things (Elektra was released only 4 years before the Rite). I remember that Salome, even earlier, had a lot of interesting use of rhythm for example.

[@ikmarchini]

Whoever did the animation knows the Theatre Champs Elysée. Yes, the lobby has two red carpeted stairs going up left and right.

[@ClassicsExplained]

We do our research!

[@olgaiushkova2454]

Это прекрасно! Завтра пойду подрастающему поколению покажу ваше видео! И лишний раз послушают про Стравинского, Нежинского и Рериха, и английский потренируют😊 Спасибо за вашу работу

[@DutchDi]

Brilliantly executed! I remember hearing the Rite of Spring for the first time when I was 18 years old. I shouted, "That is NOT music!" When my son heard it for the first time his reaction was pretty much the same. He didn't like the piece until he watched a live performance on TV. Once he understood what was happening in the orchestra, he came to appreciate the sheer genius of the composer. Now the Rite of Spring is one of his favorite pieces of music. As it is mine.

[@caiomonteiro4995]

Ok this is how you beautifully make classical music popular and more interesting to younger generations. Loved it!

[@E_FoxSnowspirit]

I love learning all the context behind the piece!!!! It’s fun to see what I get from it first then learn all out its construction/reaction

[@ClassicsExplained]

Love that - this is exactly what we are for! Thanks for the support :)

[@DanG1001]

You could sound even snootier when you say “Saint-Saëns”. I think he’d want you to.

[@mikemuhovich9320]

This is outstanding. I'm a high school AP European History teacher and I usually show a segment of the Rite of Spring but this is so well done! Bravo!!!

[@vagnercoelho5736]

I really love this ouvre. And, for me, this enjoyment of instrumental music started with "The call of Ktulu"

[@jazzcoffeeartcafeofficial]

Funny enough, I was 4 when I watched fantasia or 3 years old I believe, and thats the day I got into orchestra! when I was 3/4 years old :) I am 27 years old and I still love classical/Orchestra, I will never stop loving that genre of music.

[@vulkanosaure]

The rite of spring is the piece that took me the longest time to appreciate, i listened to it first at 12, couldn't understand a thing, but i liked the title of the piece and i kept hearing praises abt it that made me keep coming back and try. About 15 years later, it became one of my favourite piece ever and every single notes seem to make perfect sense. Thanks for the great video which helps me appreciate it even more.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Lovely. Thank you so much :)

[@rockancestor]

Wow! I never knew this piece had such an amazing story behind it. I am really loving these new art styles too, it reminds me of the kind of thing School of Life are doing with lots of visual variety. Keep up the great videos :)

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you! We are glad you enjoyed the animation!

[@pattyluss]

Holy s*** dude this is incredible; art, info conveyed, motifs from Le Sacre, it’s all just so well put together! Bravo!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much - that means the world to us! Glad you enjoyed - as you say, tough to distill a work of genius into a few minutes and which is easily accessible

[@katiefarrant9680]

I'm going to use this in my class today. Thankyou for making all these great videos.

[@barney6888]

so, end credits show Suzanne Matharan as animator. Genius!! I love this woman and will hail her work to all I know! She has an understanding that all else fall short of. So wonderful to discover that there is still hope for the human mind!!! honestly, I haven't seen genius animation like this since Robert McKimson's wartime work. I take my hat off to you, totally.

[@lisys511]

My first ever classics explained animation that i ever watched :3

[@Ricardo_Chacon]

I love your explanations for these videos, I find them very educational and the animations make them much easier to visualize, thank you

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much for your feedback!

[@emilynelson9174]

Holy moly, I never put together that the final chord spells DEAD! Fantastic

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks! Yes - so many layers of meaning!

[@Kass686]

The Rite really is the best ballet, it's so intense and novel for its time while invoking a "primitive" sound and style

[@captainkielbasa5471]

People like it because it's contrarian, which is not a virtue of art. It's an edgelord's ballet. It's a naive appraisal. It's creative, of course, but it's meshed in ugliness. In essence, just because it's different does not mean it's good

[@TristanMA]

Well, almost! I still prefer Petrushka and The Firebird. These dramas were chorographed by Michel Fokine and have postive Outcomes. I asigned The Firebird to Halloween and Petrushka to Easter. The Rite of Spring doesn't belong in any of these holidays.

[@nineletterproductions3772]

this is a BRILLIANT introduction and explanation!!! Thank you so much!!!!!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Much appreciated!

[@SusanSingsSongs]

Brilliantly done and perfect to introduce my students to the great Stravinsky.

[@esraguljauch2156]

This was amazing, thank you…

[@kittycatmeowmeow963]

Aaahhh, so it's that kind of spring. That explains everything.

[@JazzLivingRoom]

This is pure art... Sir, you’re a genius! I can’t thank you enough for this wonderful story...

[@ClassicsExplained]

We appreciate this so much - thank you and enjoy the rest of our videos :)

[@stephanyarbelaez8835]

I'm so happy you're still making content ❤❤❤❤ i love all of your videos

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@catscratchfever7540]

It just never gets old!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Very kind - keep watching - many more to come :)

[@dereksandstrom]

So glad I took a chance on this video! This has been one of my favorite pieces for a long time, but this account of its premier really brought it to life in a new way! Brilliant commentary, and in a way that less experienced listeners can understand!

[@mukhtarappazov9093]

This is my first time I understood Stravinsky music! Thank you very much, indeed!!!

[@ClassicsExplained]

Much appreciated :)

[@MFYouTube683]

Well done! Coco Chanel was at the premiere as well. She was very inspired by the performance, but especially so by the costumes

[@ookamimusic4019]

Amazing Series, what a great Resource!

[@chris9879]

Rite of Spring is one of my favourite ballets. Thanks for shedding more light on it. Really well done!😊😊

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thank you so much - our favourite too! Keep watching and enjoying Classics Explained :)

[@TristanMA]

I prefer the Fokine dramas of The Firebird (which I assigned to Halloween) and Petrushka (which I assigned to Easter) better than the Rite Spring. Please cover these ballets.

[@Galopo]

Now I need to see this ballet live before I die!

[@mathildageorgiew4521]

I just found that channel and I’m amazed! We heard this pice in art class to get kreativ and everyone was kinda annoyed after 20 sec. But we never learned about the background and now I love it!! Thank you for making classical music more relatable!

[@ClassicsExplained]

❤️ This is exactly what we do these videos for!!

[@LittleGreenPearl]

I’m a music teacher in my 20s and I wish I had this channel when I was younger! Here before you go viral. You’ll go far, keep up the good work!

[@miguelanxovareladiaz]

AWESOME VIDEO. I am a Stravinsky's fan since I heard his music more than 30 years ago. I always have thought that Stravinsky's life is very interesting and could be the script for a great biopic. This video is the best approach to that future film I have ever seen.

[@ClassicsExplained]

So kind words - we really do appreciate it!! And agreed 100%. There was a film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky which came out a few years back, but it only really looked at a particular period in his life and is full of Hollywood fiction! Other than that, there are a few great documentaries of him in old age

[@aaronfreeman8252]

This was absolutely amazing. It reminded me of why I love The Rite Of Spring so darn much, and of my love for my bassoon.

[@ClassicsExplained]

Inspiring comment! Keep playing that bassoon!

[@JohnRandomness105]

Stravinsky gave the bassoon such a wonderful, and probably unprecedented, bassoon solo opening. (Disney couldn't resist recapping the music at the end of his cartoon.)

[@bigbird4481]

I love the art style and story telling

[@ClassicsExplained]

Thanks so much for your kind words - many more on our channel :)

[@Sergio1Rodrigues]

During literature classes I love using Le sacre as an example of what modernism is. Thanks, it is a great video and channel

[@stuff580]

This was an amazing video with beautiful animations! This channel deserves (and will probably get) millions of subscribers.

[@jotaku7783]

When I first heard this piece as I’m sure many others did, through Disney’s Fantasia, I definitely felt the primal chaos of the music, and not just because I was watching dinosaurs kill each other and die. Great video, thank you.

[@Bubs0271]

Wonderful breakdown

[@levoldunom]

8:19 Give a round of applause for the güiro, people!

[@Rgoid]

“I am güiro.“

[@sadem1045]

I watched the last part of the 1987 performance in my dance history course in college. It was like something out of a nightmare.

[@TristanMA]

The Rite of Spring was, along with Straus' Salome and Elektra, an example of the shock of the new.

[@billharker5424]

I love this piece, but never understood it. Thanks for all of this!

[@pawn62]

Loved it! And loved Sacre since childhood. (Thanks, Walt!)

[@tomyoung5449]

Well done!! And with the perfect mix of humor and education. Can't wait to show this to my wife, who turned me on to Stravinski!