STRAVINSKY: MYTHS&RITUALS SERIES TICKETS

STRAVINSKY:RITUALS

ARTISTS

Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Karole Armitage choreographer
Megumi Eda dancer
Ahmaud Culver dancer
William Isaac dancer
Cristian Laverde Koenig dancer
Isabela Szylinska dancer
Emily Wagner dancer Clifton Taylor lighting designer
Peter Speliopoulos costume designer

REPERTOIRE

Symphonies of Wind Instruments, 1947 revision
Agon
-interval-
The Rite of Spring

INSPIRED BY STRAVINSKY: THE WOODWIND PROJECT. 4.30pm, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall (FREE)

A pre-concert performance with young musicians from Hounslow Music Service and Wandsworth Schools’ Music Service. Having received coaching and rehearsals with our players, the young musicians will perform side-by-side with Philharmonia woodwind players in a specially curated concert exploring Stravinsky’s music and influences. No booking required.

THE CONCERT

Across his creative life Stravinsky was continually exploring new ways of presenting ritual through music in order to make it relevant to his own time. Most famously in The Rite of Spring, premièred on the eve of the First World War, the listener is confronted with a powerful and frightening spectacle of human sacrifice, here imagined with dynamic choreography by 'punk ballarina' Karole Armitage. The later, abstract ceremonies of the Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Agon – each written, respectively, after each of the two world wars – reflect poignantly on personal and collective loss.

In co-production with the Armitage Foundation and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

LISTEN ON BBC iPlayer

Recording available from 17.05.16 for 30 days.

BOOK NOW

Image: Costume sketch for 'The Firebird' by Leon Bakst

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Professor Jonathan Cross is joined by the V&A's Jane Pritchard and musicians from the Royal College of Music. We focus on Stravinsky's obsession with ritual and myth, looking at some of the works featured in the Philharmonia Orchestra's series Myths and Rituals including Symphonies of Wind Instruments (15 May), Les Noces (26 May) and Oedipus Rex (29 Sep).

Image: Musicians from the Royal College of Music playing

CHAMBER CONCERT: STRAVINSKY FOR STRINGS

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Musicians from the Royal College of Music

Duo concertant for Violin and Piano,
Three Pieces for String Quartet
Concertino for String Quartet
Double Canon, for string quartet
Raoul Dufy in Memoriam
Pastorale, for violin and piano
Les Cinq Doigts, for piano
Septet, for clarinet, horn, bassoon, vioin, viola, cello and piano
Suite italienne from Pulcinella, for violin and piano

Royal College of Music musicians perform a varied programme of Stravinsky’s chamber works which showcase the sound of strings, including his popular and exquisite Suite italienne for violin and piano.

CHAMBER CONCERT: STRAVINSKY FOR ENSEMBLE

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Musicians from the Royal College of Music

Fanfare for a New Theatre, for two trumpets
Three Pieces for Clarinet
Sonata for Two Pianos
Concertino for piano duet
Octet for Wind Instruments
Suite from Histoire du soldat, for violin, clarinet and piano
Trois mouvements de Petrouchka

Royal College of Music musicians present a concert of some of Stravinsky’s most enchanting chamber works for wind, brass and piano, including the rarely performed Sonata for Two Pianos and his own sparkling arrangement of three movements from Petrouchka.

Stravinsky: ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

RCM Symphony Orchestra
Diego Masson conductor
Samson Tsoy piano

Symphony in 3 Movements
Capriccio, for piano and orchestra
Song of the Nightingale
The Firebird Suite (1945)

Be captivated by the orchestral wizardry of The Firebird Suite; charmed by a bird of a different feather in a Song of the Nightingale; impressed by the technical feats of award-winning RCM pianist Samson Tsoy in the virtuosic Capriccio; and entertained by Stravinsky’s final cinematic-inspired Symphony. Diego Masson, one of the world’s leading exponents of 20th and 21st century music, conducts this exciting programme.

FREE RUSH HOUR CONCERT

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Jonathan Berman conductor

Scènes de ballet
Two Poems by Paul Verlaine
Jeu de cartes

It was inevitable that a shooting star like Stravinsky would dazzle New York. He called his Scènes de ballet ‘a portrait of Broadway’ and Jeu de cartes evokes a city glistening with vice, wittily dealt in three hands. Part of Southbank Sinfonia’s Free Rush Hour Concert series.

Myths and Rituals is supported by Vincent Meyer and the Philharmonia Orchestra

STRAVINSKY:
MYTHS&RITUALS

MAY - SEPTEMBER 2016
SOUTHBANK CENTRE'S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

Continue down the page to explore the timeline.

Early Life: Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky

Born in Russia, exiled in Switzerland, later a French citizen, later still an American citizen, buried in Venice. The itinerant life of Igor Stravinsky echoes the turbulent age through which he lived. The journeys of this iconic modern composer trace the history of the twentieth century, leaving their indelible mark on the extraordinary music he produced.

1882

Born June, Oranienbaum
(west of St Petersburg)

Sara Mohr-Pietsch introduces Stravinsky's journeys (01:47)

1905

Stravinsky begins lessons with
Rimsky-Korsakov

(When Rimsky-Korsakov dies in 1908,
Stravinsky writes Chant Funèbre in his memory.)

Workers massacred at St Petersburg Winter Palace on Bloody Sunday

Image: Stravinsky with Rimsky-Korsakov, 1908. Author unknown.

Igor Stravinsky with his wife Ekaterina Nossenko. © SPUTNIK / Alamy Stock Photo

1906

Stravinsky marries (his cousin)
Ekaterina Nossenko

They have four children:

Fyodor (Fedik, Theodore) 1907
Lyudmila (Mika, Mikushka) 1908
Sviatoslav (Soulima) 1910
Milena (Milène) 1914

1909

First success with the Ballets Russes

Costume design by Leon Bakst (1866-1924) for The Firebird. © World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

‘The most exquisite marvel of equilibrium that we have ever imagined between sounds, movements and forms.’
Review of the première of The Firebird, Paris, 1910

1910

Stravinsky arrives in Paris

Diaghilev brings Stravinsky to Paris for the première of the ballet The Firebird at the Opera Garnier, with groundbreaking choreography by Mikhail Fokine and music by Stravinsky. Stravinsky's life is forever changed.

World map showing cities Stravinsky lived in during this period; St Petersburg, Ustilug, Paris and Clarens, Switzerland.

'HE SPENT MONTHS, PERHAPS YEARS, OF HIS LIFE IN RAILWAY TRAINS'

Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934 Stephen Walsh

Switzerland and France

Jonathan Cross: Stravinsky's life in Paris (13:18)

Paris was the cultural capital of the world in the years between the wars. Stravinsky made sure that he and his music were at the heart of the cultural life of the City of Light.

1913

THE RITE OF SPRING

The Rite of Spring

premières 1913

'The Great Sacrifice' (original working title for The Rite of Spring), preliminary paintings by Nicolas Roerich (1910). © Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

The story of the first performance of The Rite of Spring on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées has become the stuff of legend. Long famous for the so-called riot that took place, no-one can really be sure precisely what happened that night...

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN ON THE RITE OF SPRING (07:32)

The New York Times, 1913. Wikimedia commons

There was clearly some sort of commotion (which was not exactly unusual in Paris theatres), but whether the police were called is a debatable point. Most likely is that Diaghilev engineered the occasion by handing out free tickets to young enthusiasts for the new, in opposition to the conservative aristocrats who usually attended such occasions.

Diaghilev’s verdict? ‘Exactly what I wanted!’

Commentaries on The Rite of Spring

Esa-Pekka Salonen’s commentary while conducting The Rite of Spring.

Robin O’Neill, Principal Bassoon, on The Rite of Spring.

‘The Rite of Spring serves as a point of reference to all who seek to establish the birth certificate of what is still called “contemporary” music.’ Pierre Boulez

1914

Outbreak of WW1

Stravinsky makes last ever visit to family summer home in Ustilug

He will not return to Russia for almost 50 years

Stravinsky and his family spent the years of WWI living on the banks of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, along with many other exiled Russians from the Ballets Russes, including Diaghilev.

1917

Russian Revolutions

1918

End of WW1

Symphonies of Wind Instruments

premières 1920

World map showing cities Stravinsky lived in during this period; Clarens in Switzerland, and Anglet, Carantec and Paris in France

1920

Stravinsky and his family relocate from Switzerland to Carantec, Brittany. Stravinsky then meets Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel; he and his family move into her house in Garches, west of Paris. In 1921 the family move to Biarritz, in 1924 to Nice, and in 1931 to Voreppe. Stravinsky divides his time between home and the capital. His base there is provided by the Pleyel piano company, who give him a work studio. The family returns to Paris in 1934.

LES NOCES WITH PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD AND TAMARA STEFANOVICH (05:34)

Delve into Stravinsky’s Les Noces with pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich. This striking piece features the rare sight of four pianos on stage, played alongside percussionists and singers to create a unique spectacle. In this short film Pierre-Laurent and Tamara explain why they think Les Noces is the most exciting composition for piano today, with other surprising insights along the way.

1921

Stravinsky meets and begins affair with

Vera de Bosset Sudeykina

‘In order to create
there must be a dynamic force,
and what force is more potent than love?’

Igor Stravinsky

Image: Portrait of Stravinsky by Pablo Picasso, 1920.

Mavra and Renard

première 1922

1922

Stravinsky, Diaghilev,
Picasso, Joyce and Proust

dine together at Hôtel Majestic, Paris

The first-night party following the première at the Paris Opéra of Renard on 18 May 1922 was quite an event. Wealthy British writer Sydney Schiff and his wife hosted a dinner at the luxurious Hôtel Majestic (now known as The Peninsula Paris) on avenue Kléber. The five guests were the crème de la crème of inter-war cultural life, symbolising their importance in the world’s artistic capital. Huge egos, delicate temperaments and free-flowing wine resulted in an eventful evening.

Les Noces

premières 1923

1923

Germany: Beer Hall Putsch

1925

Stravinsky's first concert tour of the US

Oedipus rex

premières 1927

Apollon musagète

premières 1928

1928

Stravinsky makes his first recordings

(Petrushka and The Firebird for Columbia records)

George Balanchine choreographs Apollon musagète

(his first new choreography of a Stravinsky work)

In 1924, a 20-year-old Russian-Georgian dancer and choreographer named Giorgi Balanchivadze auditioned for Diaghilev, who immediately recruited him for the Ballets Russes. He took the name George Balanchine. In 1925 Diaghilev invited him to remake Stravinsky’s symphonic poem The Song of the Nightingale, which had first been staged by Léonide Massine in 1920. This was the start of a partnership between composer and choreographer that would become one of the most enduring and successful artistic collaborations of the 20th century. Together they produced some of the most exciting and influential work ever made for the ballet stage, including Apollon musagète, Orpheus and Agon.

Igor Stravinsky - June 1927. © SPUTNIK / Alamy Stock Photo

JONATHAN CROSS: STRAVINSKY AND MYTH (04:10)

Stravinsky’s career is punctuated by the retelling of classical myths: Oedipus, Apollon musagète, Persephone, Orpheus, Agon. It was through these myths that Stravinsky found the means to come to terms with the deep sadness and losses of the years of war and revolution through which he lived.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to hear a Latin version of King Oedipus. This version is an opera-oratorio; based on the tragedy of Sophocles, but preserving only a certain monumental aspect of its various scenes. And so (wishing to spare your ears and your memories) I shall recall the story as we go along…’ (The Speaker, Oedipus rex)

PETER SELLARS ON OEDIPUS REX (05:51)

Oedipus tears out his own eyes, a terrifying and unforgettable moment. As director of the opera-oratorio Oedipus rex, Peter Sellars talks to us about the human heart of the story. In this short film Peter opens up his creative mind, and explains the pairing in this concert with the peaceful Symphony of Psalms

1929

Wall Street Crash, start of Great Depression

Symphony of Psalms

premières 1930

1933

Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany

PERSÉPHONE

premières 1934

1936

Spanish Civil War begins

German aeroplanes flying over Paris during the Blitzkrieg, 1940. © The Art Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

1938

Stravinsky’s daughter Lyudmila dies

1939

Stravinsky’s wife and mother die

Outbreak of WW11

STRAVINSKY LEAVES EUROPE FOR THE UNITED STATES ABOARD THE SS MANHATTAN

World map showing Stravinsky's journey to the US, and the cities in which he stayed during his time there - New York, Cambridge, MA and Los Angeles.

USA: Later life and reinvention

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Journey to America (11:03)

With Europe at war again, Stravinsky set sail for America to deliver lectures
at Harvard University. He chose to stay, living in the same house in California
longer than anywhere else in his life.

1940

Occupation of Paris by Nazis and surrender of Marshal Pétain

Vera joins Igor in the US
and they are married

They eventually settle in LOS ANGELES

Fantasia is released

1944

Stravinsky is warned by police
after arranging The Star Spangled Banner

1945

End of WW11

Igor and Vera Stravinsky
granted US citizenship

Philharmonia Orchestra founded (History)

Stravinsky festival held in Paris

Paris mounts a Stravinsky Festival (January to June) to help sweep away the memory of concerts of German music during the Nazi occupation. On 15 March 1945, a young Pierre Boulez and fellow Conservatoire composition students blow police whistles to disrupt the French première of Four Norwegian Moods at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in protest at – as it seemed to them – the music’s neoclassical conservatism.

ORPHEUS

premières 1947

Los Angeles in the evening light. © Philharmonia Orchestra 2016

MASS

premières 1948

1948

Stravinsky meets Robert Craft

Craft lived in the Stravinsky household for over 20 years

Robert Craft – known affectionately to Igor and Vera Stravinsky as ‘Bobsky’ – was friend, spokesman, advisor, amanuensis, conductor and chronicler of all things Stravinskian. Together they wrote the series of late Conversations books.

‘From the first, she [Vera Stravinsky] believed that I, or someone like me, was essential to her husband if he was to remain in the midstream of new music.’ Robert Craft

‘I know the Symphony in C better than Mr. S. does.’

(Robert Craft, 7 April 1948, just a week after having met Stravinsky for the first time.)

1951

Stravinsky returns to Europe
for the first time since 1939

The Rake's Progress premières in Venice

Poet Dylan Thomas, 1949. © CTK / Alamy Stock Photo

CANTATA

premières 1952

1953

Stravinsky meets

Dylan Thomas

They plan an opera together,
but Thomas dies later that year

IN MEMORIAM DYLAN THOMAS

premières 1954

1956

Stravinsky suffers a stroke

in Berlin while conducting Symphony in C

AGON

premières 1957

KAROLE ARMITAGE: AGON, DANCE AND COLLABORATION (09:12)

Agon was supposed to be a ballet to end all ballets – that’s what the choreographer George Balanchine wanted to complete his trio of myth-based ballet collaborations with Stravinsky: Apollon musagète, Orpheus, and now Agon. Choreographer Karole Armitage, who danced with Balanchine, is creating a new version of Agon, to première with the Philharmonia in May 2016. Go behind the scenes with her during the rehearsal process.

Igor and Vera Stravinsky with the USSR Minister of Culture Yekaterina Furtseva in Moscow. © ITAR-TASS Photo Agency / Alamy Stock Photo

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN: STRAVINSKY AND FAITH (06:41)

In Stravinsky’s later life he looked to religion for comfort and inspiration, both directly to his own Russian Orthodox faith, and more widely. Esa-Pekka Salonen reflects on Stravinsky’s religious works such as the Cantata and the Mass, as well as on his musical homages to lost friends.

1959

Vietnam war begins

Stravinsky is awarded a star in 1960 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

1961

Stravinsky's most extensive world tour

He visits Europe, east Asia, Australia and New Zealand

1962

Stravinsky returns to Russia
(now Soviet Union) for first time in nearly 50 years

A dinner is held in his honour by Soviet Ministry of Culture.
In this year Stravinsky also tours to South Africa, Europe and Israel.

The Stravinskys dine with the Kennedys at the White House

Cuban Missile Crisis. Mandela imprisoned.

1963

Igor Stravinsky conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in a concert of his own music in Rio de Janeiro.

Craft conducts Fireworks and Symphony in Three Movements, before Stravinsky conducts the Suite Le Baiser de la Fée himself.

Kennedy assassinated

1964

Civil Rights Act
passed in the US

Elegy for JFK

premières 1964

INTROITUS (TS ELIOT IN MEMORIAM)

premières 1965

1965

Aged 83, Stravinsky conducts his farewell London concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

The concert took place on the 14th September at the Royal Festival Hall, with performances including the 1945 suite from The Firebird. Stravinsky was called back to the stage many times. Since the applause appeared to be never-ending, he finally returned to the stage in his coat and hat!

REQUIEM CANTICLES

premières 1966

1969

The Stravinskys
move to New York

Image: Inner page of programme book, farewell London concert. © Philharmonia Orchestra 2016

1971

Stravinsky dies
(6 April) in his apartment in New York

Preliminary funeral rites take place in New York. The funeral is in Venice at the church of Santi Giovanni e Paulo. He is buried on the cemetery island of San Michele, in the Orthodox section, close to Diaghilev.

Stravinsky's Legacy

Sara Mohr-Pietsch:Stravinsky's Legacy (09:28)

‘Everyone, after all, has been influenced by Stravinsky’
The Apollonian Clockwork: On Stravinsky Louis Andriessen and Elmer Schonberger

Philharmonia
projects

The Firebird Project

What happened when we brought together young musicians and dancers from southwest London to create their own version of Stravinsky's The Firebird?

Explore on the Philharmonia site

RE:RITE

RE-RITE allows members of the public to conduct, play and step inside the Philharmonia Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen through audio and video projections of musicians performing Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Explore on the Philharmonia site