Day 52

Happy New Year! Or at least it will be for me in less than one hour. Some of you may have already ushered in the New Year, others maybe later. Some of you may not view time in a linear fashion; who am I to critique?

Anyway, I choose this piece because it is one of those pieces that ushered in a new idea of what music is, and yet remained attached to it's own creative musical roots. If you haven't guessed it already, it's Le Sacre du Printemps, also known as the Rite of Spring...plus one other short piece.

Side One:

Pieces: Fireworks

The Rite of Spring (1st part)

Composer: Igor Stravinsky

Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Seiji Ozawa

Record Date: None Given

Side Two:

Piece: The Rite of Spring (Conclusion)

Composer: Igor Stravinsky

Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Seiji Ozawa

Record Date: None Given

The Rite of Spring is one of those pieces where if you haven't heard it, stop what you are doing, go out, get a good recording of it, and damn it, listen to it. It's a whirlwind of force, of tonal calamity brought together and held aloft, with the statement "I am MUSIC". Notice I say music, because while this may be pushing the edge of what some state is music, it is still music. The stories surrounding this piece are great; riots, dancers unable to dance, virgin sacrifice and the French. But what I find most interesting is the fact that in reality the very core of the piece is old, very old. It is a tribal song that Stravinsky heard while on vacation in Siberia, played on an instrument unlike any in a modern orchestra; and the composer ran with it. It is this blending of new and old that drew me to this piece as a new years piece. That and it really rocks, seriously, sit in a completely dark room and play this right before or after playing Rollin's Band and you'll understand.

I'll see you all next year (the 15,000th time you've heard that joke this week)