Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” in Detroit

A “picture of pagan Russia,” one of Nicholas Roerich’s designs for the first ballet performance of “The Rite of Spring” (from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Early yesterday evening my wife and I settled in over dinner to watch the latest “free live HD webcast” presented by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). Some readers may recall that our last encounter took place this past November, when Music Director Jader Bignamini led a compelling program that coupled Joseph Haydn’s Hoboken I/100 in G major (often known as the “Military” symphony) with Gustav Mahler’s ninth symphony. Yesterday DSO presented a Russian program led by Daniele Rustioni. The second half was devoted entirely to Igor Stravinsky’s music for “The Rite of Spring,” a ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky to evoke the score’s subtitle “Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts.”

There is probably a consensus that this is one of the most significant works to be composed in the twentieth century. It even attracted the attention of Walt Disney (who, probably working with Leopold Stokowski, unfortunately butchered the score to suit his cartoon narrative). However, for all of this music’s familiarity, it was given a fresh and engaging account under Rustioni’s baton. As usual, the video direction guided the viewer through the different “sites of action” in the score; and it is clear that the crew was as well-rehearsed for the score as the performers were. Thus, I found that, however, familiar that score was to me, I could enjoy every moment of the freshness that Rustioni brought to his interpretation.

The other Russian composer accounted for the concerto selection in the first half of yesterday’s program. The soloist was violinist Francesca Dego (making her DSO debut), performing Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 77 (99), his first violin concerto in A minor. It was dedicated to the Russian violinist David Oistrakh. If the Guinness World Records had a category for “longest solo instrumental cadenza,” Opus 77 would probably be the undisputed winner. It follows up on the retrospective dignity of a passacaglia at a stately Andante tempo, forming a lengthy bridge preparing the listener for the final raucous burlesque movement.

Dego’s command of that cadenza was nothing short of jaw-dropping, allowing it to unfold with more than enough clarity to keep the attentive listener on the edge of his/her seat. She then announced that her encore would be a capriccio by Grażyna Bacewicz, but she did not say which one. (Bacewicz composed six of them.)

The “overture” for the program was Camille Pépin’s “Les Eaux célestes” (celestial waters). My guess is that most of the audience quickly recognized that the composer had taken Debussy as her point of departure. However, given the nature of the title itself, one can appreciate that the composer’s intention was to evoke, rather than describe. The good news is that the music did not go on for too long but left me hoping to encounter further listening experiences.