CLARTMU006 - Stravinsky, the Ballets Russes and the Birth of Modernism

Explore the music, choreography and historical and cultural context of the three famed ballets Igor Stravinsky composed between 1910 and 1913 for the Ballets Russes. These three works—“The Firebird,” “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring”—used ancient Russian folklore and mythology to create a revolutionary modernist aesthetic. Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, founded in Paris in 1909, is the most influential and significant ballet company of the 20th century. His principal choreographers—Fokine, Nijinsky and Massine—completely redefined the style and aesthetics of ballet. Diaghilev hired some of the most important artists of the day—including Kandinsky, Picasso and Matisse—to design the sets and costumes. He commissioned scores by Debussy, Prokofiev, Ravel, Satie and, perhaps most significantly, Igor Stravinsky. We explore the musical language that Stravinsky created to accompany the new choreographic style of Fokine and Nijinsky, watch reconstructions of the original ballets, and discuss the historical and cultural context that gave birth to modernism in the first decades of the 20th century.

Note: The Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra will be performing Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” (1910), among other works, on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. led by guest conductor, Hans Graf. This performance is open to the public, and attendance is not required to participate in this course. For more information please visit: music.rice.edu/faculty-staff/current-faculty/guest-conductors-orchestras.

Course Details

David Ferris, Ph.D., is an associate professor of music in the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He teaches seminars on classical style, jazz, Mozart, Romantic song, the Schumanns, Verdi and Shakespeare, Russian opera, musical biography and folklorism in 19th-century music. His work has been published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Routledge and has appeared in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, The Journal of Musicology, Music Theory Spectrum and Music & Letters. He holds a doctorate from Brandeis University.

On Campus
This course will be delivered on campus / in person. Parking and room information will be sent prior to the class start date.

Introduction to Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes
“The Firebird”
“Petrushka”
“The Rite of Spring”

Rice University Shepherd School of Music

The Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra will be performing Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” (1910), among other works, on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. led by guest conductor, Hans Graf. This performance is open to the public, and attendance is not required to participate in this course. For more information please visit: music.rice.edu/faculty-staff/current-faculty/guest-conductors-orchestras.