Review: Philadelphia Orchestra's Rite of Spring

Every time I hear The Rite of Spring, I wonder what made the audience riot at its premiere in Paris. Was is the new-fangled dissonances? The crazy rhythms? The tribal choreography? Whatever it was, I hope audiences have gotten over it, because I believe that everyone should hear and/or see it live at least once in his or her life.

I had the opportunity to hear it on Thursday at the Philadelphia Orchestra’s first concert of the season, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 (“Winter Daydreams”) and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. This is a fitting combination because Tchaikovsky was the first Russian to popularize ballet in the rest of Europe and Stravinsky soon followed in his footsteps.

The Tchaikovsky, as most first symphonies tend to be, is straightforward, indicative of the composer’s later orchestral prowess, and not performed very often. This symphony, in particular, gives a tender look at Russian wintertime. Throughout the performance, the cellos were particularly adept at evoking the required downtrodden, yet passionate nature of Russian music. I found the second movement to be the most moving; however, the orchestra did not follow Eschenbach’s final ritenuto, resulting in a rather shaky ending. I suspect that the orchestra spent more time rehearsing the Stravinsky and did not know the Tchaikovsky as well to begin with.

As expected, the Stravinsky was thrilling. Eschenbach’s precise conducting style was perfectly suited for the constantly changing meters. Further emphasizing the furious rhythms were the percussion’s wonderfully bone-chilling walls of sound. The notoriously difficult bassoon solo, played by principal bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa, was brilliantly executed and truly set the tone for an extraordinary spring day. Runs through Thursday.

Photo credit: Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Orchestra Association