Famous works · Modern
The Rite of Spring
Premiered 29 May 1913, Paris
A ballet of pagan ritual whose premiere is one of music's most famous scandals.
The story behind it
It was created for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, at the new Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Its violent rhythms, dissonance and unusual dance caused uproar in the audience on opening night.
Within a year it was triumphant in concert, and it changed the course of 20th-century music.
What to listen for
- The high bassoon solo that opens the work.
- The pounding stamped chords of “Augurs of Spring”.