2013-02-26
4 分钟Howard Goodall and Suzy Klein discuss Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
The story of music in 50 pieces with Howard Goodall and Susie Klein.
Howard, we've talked about the shock of the new with music by Richard Strauss's operas Alame.
There's virtually no work of art in the 20th century, though that is as important, as significant, as shockingly new as Stravinsky's rite of spring.
It has to be in a list of 50 essential pieces, I think.
Of course it does.
Apart from the fact it's very exciting to watch and to listen to, we've had to leave out pieces of music that are all those things that are exciting and emotional and beautiful, and I'm very distressed to see.
I've not been able to squeeze in any marla symphonies.
For example, my personal favourite, you can't have it all.
You can't have it all.
We're being strict.
Only 50.
We can't not include Stravinsky.
It's a wonderful piece, but its significance is way beyond what it's like as a piece of music.
And in a sense, we're talking about a piece that's very early 20th century, but it really is the high watermark of modernism.
Music never really got more modern in its approach, its impact, than this.
It did get more avant garde after Stravinsky, but it didn't actually have the impact, because what you always need with a new thing is you need the new thing and a genius.
You can't just have the new thing on its own.
You can't just invent a new technique or a new sound, hope for the best.
You need a genius to make the new, whatever it is, work and to be exciting for audiences.
For me, the overriding feature of the writers spring that really picks it out as one of this 50 is because of this we'd had, throughout history the layering of various elements in music.