Igor Stravinsky

Two of Pina Bausch’s most famous works are rehearsed in Germany and Senegal, championing the choreographer’s legacy through a younger generation of dancers.

At the beginning of the 20th century there were two celebrated liberators of music who were the complete opposite of each other: the stylishly nonchalant Igor Stravinsky who revolutionized the musical field from the rhythm-section on the one hand – and on the other the smart and world-weary Arnold Schoenberg with his visionary 12-tone-music. What started as a respectful meeting of two composers soo turned into a bitter rivalry that led to a fundamental debate about progress and truth in music. We travelled to L.A., Vienna and Venice to trace the steps of the two genius composers.

Since March 2020, the artists of New York City Ballet have been unable to perform at Lincoln Center. This is their return home.

Pina Bausch’s iconic choreography to The Rite of Spring danced on the beach in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal. Filmed as the world descended into lockdown, this recording captures the last rehearsal of a specially assembled company of 38 dancers from 14 African countries, and documents a unique moment in their preparations for an international tour that would go on to be cancelled by COVID-19.

Alive with color, excitement, and spectacular effects, Firebird is a fantastical and thrilling fairy tale about magic, love, danger and liberation. Prince Ivan, a young hunter, strays into a mystical forest where he encounters the exotic, immortal Firebird who gives him an enchanted feather that will summon her when he is in dire need. When Ivan falls in love with a beautiful Princess who is under the spell of the evil sorcerer Kastchei, he calls the Firebird, and the battle between good and evil is joined...

Stage director Axel Ranisch interweaves two works, resulting in a coming-of-age fairy tale on family, love, knowledge and self-determination: Mavra and Iolanta are becoming Mavra / Iolanta.

Carmen: Impetuous Carmen seduces Don José in order to convince him to let her out of jail. Once outside, she thinks she’s finally free before realizing that she’s in fact prisoner of a love triangle: she wants to be with the famous Torero Escamillo, but she can’t make Don José go away. Petruska: At Saint-Petersburg’s carnival, three puppets are playing the same role over and over: the unhappy lover Petrushka, the coquette and a Moor. Fed up with this endless part that never goes well for him, Petrushka attacks his rival and flees from the puppets theater. Carmen Suite, staged by Alberto Alonso, is a one act ballet about a passionate, free-spirited woman caught in a love triangle. Stanislavsky’s Petrushka, choreographed by Edward Clug, encapsulates the story of a puppet that came to life, burdened by the human emotions of love, jealousy, and rage. Both stories envelop the characters which refuse to abide by the rules, to whom even the thought of submission is repulsive.

Characters from Haitian folklore come to life telling their story of ritual, ceremony and celebration. All wait to be overcome by the female spirit Erzuli. Who will be chosen?

The film is about the horrors of war. It tells the fate of the tailor John Bottom who during the war against the Germans lost an arm and died, but he was buried with the arm of a carpenter. John's earthly suffering continues after his death ... John's unfortunate ghost can not accept this error, indeed he is a tailor! and Mary, his beloved, can not recognize him with the arm of another ... The apostle Peter can not afford to change the order established in heaven and John will remain alone paradise.

Sir Simon Rattle is joined by virtuosic soprano Barbara Hannigan for a modernist programme that showcases the immense capabilities of the London Symphony Orchestra. At the heart of this concert is The Rite of Spring. Once decried, it is now a cornerstone of orchestral repertoire and considered by many to be the greatest work of the 20th century. Its elemental nature is best summed up by Stravinsky, who, in an unaccustomed moment of humilty, said that he didn’t feel he was the composer of the piece, but simply the vessel through which it passsed. Sir Simon Rattle says: ‘I’ve been conduting it since I was 19...it’s one of those pieces that reminds you what the shock of the new is about and it’s still one of the great challenges and one of the great thrills to perform.’

Feel the raw energy of the score and the anguish of moral conflict, brought to an end through violent sacrifice. Stravinsky wrote The Rite of Spring for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company. It caused sensation when first performed in 1913 as it was unlike anything ballet audiences had heard before. It is now considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Ice Maiden, The Fairy's Kiss tells the story of a boy cursed with a kiss, destined for immortality.

Now celebrating its 50th year, George Balanchine’s sparkling ballet still shines with all the brilliance of the gemstones that inspired it.

For one evening, the Bolshoi takes on a new challenge with audacity in The Cage by Jerome Robbins, Harald Lander’s Études and Alexei Ratmansky’s Russian Seasons.

Alice Sara Ott and Francesco Tristano join forces for this energetic and joyful collaboration on the stage of the international Heidelberger Frühling (Heidelberg Spring) festival, held annually since 1997 in March and April in the romantic German city. The program, entirely designed by good friends Ott and Tristano, is entitled "Scandal" in reference to the public outcry provoked by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring—indignantly called a "massacre" upon its 1913 premiere at Paris's Théâtre des Champs Élysées.

STRAVINSKY IN HOLLYWOOD explores the short-lived film career of this legendary composer, it is the story of his trials and tribulations with the Hollywood Studios, the story of an old school European artist knocking heads with the brash New World. Igor Stravinsky lived in the heart of Hollywood from 1939 until shortly before his death in 1971 - longer than in any other single place. He came expecting to find lucrative work composing for the movies. The film uses a combination of existing archival footage (some of it never before seen), interviews with Stravinsky and his assistant Robert Craft. The documentary includes scenes from several big studio films of the 40s brought together for the first time with the music which Stravinsky wrote for them.

On February 26, 1920, Robert Wiene's world-famous film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari premiered at the Marmorhaus in Berlin. To this day, it is considered a manifesto of German expressionism; a legend of cinema and a key work to understand the nature of the Weimar Republic and the constant political turmoil in which a divided society lived after the end of the First World War.

George Balanchine's jewel-themed triptych, strikingly choreographed to the music of Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. This three act masterpiece is renowned as the world's first full-length abstract ballet. The Russian-born co-founder of the New York City Ballet, Balanchine was inspired by the artistry of jewellery designer Claude Arpels to create a trio of distinct movements revealing the essence of each precious stone. Each part also evokes three different cities: Paris, New York and St. Petersburg. 'Emeralds' was conceived as a tribute to the French romantic school, with music by Gabriel Faure. The fiery and energetic 'Rubies' taps into the rich tradition of Broadway musicals, with music by Stravinsky. 'Diamonds' honours the grandeur of Imperial Russia and the Maryinsky Theater, choreographed to the music of Tchaikovsky. With its jewel-like costumes, this is a celebration of the influences on the choreographer who was described as the father of American ballet.

Black-and-white film projections by Bill Morrison, using archival footage of frigid Arctic scenes.

Framed by the tranquil beauty of a forest near Berlin, Khatia Buniatishvili gives a recital of pianistic masterpieces dappled by the shade of verdant ferns and leafy canopies. As a special treat, her older sister Gvantsa joins her for four-handed works by Dvořák, Brahms, and Piazzolla. Described as a “force of nature”, Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili takes her art into the wilderness with this concert. On a wooden stage, she sits in an earthy concert hall performing works of particular meaning for her, and beloved by audiences the world over. From Debussy’s Clair de Lune to Ravel’s La Valse, from Stravinsky’s Petrushka to Piazzolla’s Improvisations on Libertango, Buniatishvili demonstrates her wide palette of expression and lyric approach to her instrument. Interspersed with the music are intimate interviews of the artist herself in which she discusses on her musical upbringing, her career, and her impressions of the pieces she has chosen to include in the program.

Iolanta is a one act lyric opera, sung in Russian, by Tchaikovsky. Performed in the style of a nineteenth-century Italian melodrama, the scenes have a recitative introduction followed by a single arioso, aria, duet or chorus. Persephone is a three act melodrama, sung in French, by Stravinsky. It is a story of regeneration, symbolised in Sellars use of dancers from the Cambodian dance company, Amrita Performing Arts. Peter Sellars, one of the most innovative creators on today's stage, has linked these two productions by using the same stage setting, instantly archaic yet modern, and lit by rich colours to define the journey from darkness to light.

Every year, the Berliner Philharmoniker hold a kind of classical-music fête with a bright, cheerful concert to end the season. In 2009 about 22,000 people had come together at the Berlin Waldbühne to enjoy the traditional summer picnic concert. The theme of the evening was “Russian rhythms”, and star conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Yefim Bronfman, one of the most famous pianists in the world today, presented a superb selection of Russian music. Repertoire Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, op. 71, Overture, The Christmas Tree, March, Pas de deux (Intrada) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, op. 30 Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps Lincke: Berliner Luft

Starvinsky's ballets The Firebird and The Rite of Spring in the restored original choresography by Michel Fokine (Firebird) and Vaslav Nijinsky (Rite of Spring).

Montreal of another time is reborn into screen through images from a hundred of movies and shorts produced by the National Film Board of Canada while at its first four decades of existence. Port activities, musical shows, presence of Church, labors life, hockey fever and the best years of "Red Light" are few of the chapters of this collective family album.

Jewels, ballet in three parts choreographed by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet, recorded in October / November 2005 at the Opéra National de Paris.

Sesenta años después de que Walt Disney creara "Fantasía", se rueda "Fantasía 2000", que une la animación más espectacular con una música de ensueño. La obra se divide en ocho partes. Una de ellas es una nueva versión de "El aprendiz de Brujo", de P. Dukas, protagonizada por Mickey Mouse. Pero hay mucho más: desde las divertidas travesuras de unos flamencos a la moderna ciudad en armonioso movimiento, un derroche de imaginación con música de fondo.

A journey that begins in prehistory, passes through the Mesoamerican peoples, and shows the instruments that were used in the conquest and the colony, in order to learn about the evolution of Mexican music.

This lavish, cinematic realisation of Stravinsky's neo-classic masterpiece, performed in English, is filmed both in studio and on location. The imaginative richness in the music is complemented by costumes and sets which are, by turn, exquisitely garish and darkly grotesque to intoxicating effect.

Hamburg, May 1945, English troops occupy the city. The gates of the concentration camps open. The Germans speak of collapse and take care of everyday life. Only a few feel liberated and think of a new beginning. At the end there is a poem by Ingeborg Bachmann: We'll end the rut, otherwise the end will be spoiled.

A filmed performance of Stravinsky's ballet Les Noces (The Wedding), depicting a bleakly cynical interpretation of the marriage ritual.

The Joffrey Ballet's 1987 production of Vaslav Nijinsky and Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring used the original sets, costumes, and choreography from the 1913 production.

The story of three women, of very different epochs, whose lives are strangely parallel. The first story, during colonial times, has a man brutalizing both his wife and a female black servant. Parallel with this story is that of a modern couple who perpetuate the stereotyped role of the woman as subservient.

A soldier, returning home from war, chances upon a stranger who offers to buy his violin, the stranger is none other than the devil

This autobiographical film about the most important and influential composer of the 20th century includes documents, photographs and film never seen publicly before. Stravinsky's three surviving children talk about their father and there are contributions from the late Madame Vera Stravinsky, his music associate Robert Craft, Marie Rambert, Balanchine, Nadia Boulanger and many friends. Included in the film are important performances: Les Noces has never before been heard in this, its original form, and the choreography of Petrushka was specially recreated for the film by the Bolshoi and was not seen in this form since 1911. Finally, there is priceless film of Stravinsky himself in this unique film.

...Dancing to the border of exhaustion. Dressed in little, the black earth sticks to their skin. Yes, to the point where it hurts. A document of early Pina Bausch, an authentic recording of one of the most outstanding choreographies of the 20th century.

Scenes from the ballet Petrushka, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet at the National Opera Theatre.

Scenes from the ballet Petrushka, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet at the National Opera Theatre.

Película escrita, dirigida y dibujada por el italiano Bruno Bozzetto en el año 1977. Cuenta, en imágenes “reales” con estética muy surreallista, la historia de una extravagante orquesta formada exclusivamente por ancianas. Va intercalando además fragmentos de dibujos animados con distintas historias, sin relación entre sí, utilizando música de Debussy, Dvorak, Ravel, Sibelius, Vivaldi y Stravinsky.

This documentary follows composer and conductor Igor Stavinsky at his home in California, in London, and in Hamburg where he conducts an orchestra rehearsal. Includes conversations with a variety of friends and musical collaborators. Includes footage of Stravinsky and Balanchine discussing the Variations (in memoriam Aldous Huxley) and rehearsing their ballet Apollo with Suzanne Farrell.

This documentary is an informal portrait of the great modern composer Igor Stravinsky. Proudly American, though still very much an Old World figure with a long and alert memory for people and events in music, literature and art, Stravinsky is depicted here conducting the CBC Symphony Orchestra in a recording of his Symphony of Psalms.

Stravinsky and Balanchine's take on the apocalyptic Biblical tale. An opera composed for video.

An animated short of Igor Stravinsky's ballet Petroushka

Una nave extraterrestre se estrella en mitad del desierto. El alienígena que viaja en ella sale ileso del accidente y se dirige a la población más cercana. Una vez allí, se apodera de la mente de sus habitantes y consigue ver a través de sus ojos.

In December, 1941, using music by Stravinsky, this film provides a reaction to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. An egg is smashed by a hammer; red color with white and then blue dominates the frame. Blue paint runs; small bulbs float. The dark colors spread. White, red, blue, and black dominate the frame. Then comes fire. The bulbs burn and break. A broken bulb's filaments are exposed.

Una colección de interpretaciones animadas de grandes obras de música clásica. En 'El Aprendiz de Brujo' (P. Dukas), Mickey Mouse, discípulo de un mago, se mete en un gran embrollo, pues sus conocimientos de magia son muy limitados. 'La Consagración de la Primavera' (Stravinsky) cuenta la historia de la evolución, desde los seres unicelulares hasta la extinción de los dinosaurios. 'La Danza de las Horas' (Ponchielli) es un fragmento de un ballet cómico interpretado por elefantes, hipopótamos, cocodrilos y avestruces. 'Una Noche en el Monte Pelado' de Mussorgsky y el 'Ave Maria' de Schubert describen el enfrentamiento entre la oscuridad y la luz.