In May of 1913, Stravinskys Rite of Spring premiered in Paris and caused a near riot. By some accounts, people were horrified and left the theater. This account in the Telegraph suggests there was more to it, and that some were indeed enjoying the primal feelings the music stirred up. Perhaps they enjoyed the new stimulation a little too much. Too bad there were no cell phones to capture the event. Why do we attach certain emotions to certain aspects of music? There are composers who have a tendency to pull at the heart strings (Barber, Vaughan Williams), causing a kind of beautiful pain. Others tap directly into a happy dopamine hit (John Adamss Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Prokofiev piano sonata #7 last mvnt.) Most baroque and classical music does not zap me on visceral level, whereas much of modern music does. A year after the Rite of Spring near riot, the piece was apparently performed to a standing ovation. What changed in the interim? How would Bach have reacted? How would some ancient -- say Sumerian -- have reacted? Are our brains in some way primed to respond to certain combinations of sound? What changes as a person begins to find dissonance more acceptable? Etc. telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/10061574/The-Rite-of-Spring-1913-Why-did-it-provoke-a-riot.html
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:45:23 +0000
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