Igor Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring

Bang! That is the first sound the audience hears from Danse Sacrale, the last movement in Igor Stravinsky's ballet suite, Rite of Spring. The audience was shocked at the opening night of the Rite of Spring. They expected dancers jumping up and down at the beginning of the ballet suite. Instead, they were met with dancers in rustic attire, a far cry from usual ballet scenes, and dancing in awkward movements and clumsy-like feet. As a musician, I have heard many great things about Stravinsky, yet I could not understand how this jarring piece of music could become famous until I had to study it for my music lessons. Flipping through the pages, I faced what I expected; running notes up and down the page with no meaning, enough to make me sleepy. I thought to myself, this would make me sleepier than a sedative.

Anticipating a bizarre sound I associated Stravinsky's music, I was met with an eerie bassoon solo, sounding lost in space. One by one, other instruments joined in and eventually, the whole orchestra filled the air with interesting forest-like sounds that seemed to breathe with me. Suddenly, there were pounding rhythms of engines, whirling spirals like flywheels, and clashing of metal. Amid the turmoil of raging dissonances, a beautiful trumpet fanfare hovered above and shone forth a new light. This was something new, something I didn't expect. I couldn't help but smile to myself that I had discovered a shining gem, deep within the trenches of my first impression. This experience prompted me to study orchestral conducting. More importantly, I realized that always keeping an open ear and mind help bypass the subjective first