Rite of Spring well, so can’t compare how they played to other performances, except this sounded ‘from the belly.’ Spring’s about vigour: youth fighting their elders for sex and power; the old fighting back by sacrificing youth. Nations traditionally go to war in the spring – the ‘Spring offensive’.
It was wonderful to hear it played by the most vigorous youth orchestra in the world, just as London trees burst out and people strip off layers of winter clothes. The double-reed instruments – 4 oboes, cor anglais, 4 bassoons, contrabassoon – were positioned centre-stage and blasted a sort of raw, Dionysian insanity between the army of strings, striking you in the chest.
Tweeting birds
I realised that music which seeks to represent or mimic spring – tweeting birds etc – is a waste of time. There’s no substitute for going for a walk in a wood and hearing an actual bird. What’s important is the representation of human emotion and behaviour when confronted by spring – what happens to humans when (in this case) someone dreams of spring:
“I saw in my imagination a solemn pagan rite; sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring.” (Stravinsky)
An Englishman and his pipe
For an encore they played one of Elgar’s Enigma Variations. I laughed out loud. It’s the most English of music – about a shy, middle class man walking in the Malvern hills with his pipe. Touching they should have played it – they were honouring their host – but funny to hear just after a pagan girl’s been sacrificed to the god of spring in music