Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps” on Arte

The Accentus Music production with the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons will be broadcast on Arte on 25 August 2019.

At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, which had opened two months before, a state of emergency broke out on the 29 May 1913 after the first bars of Stravinsky’s "Le Sacre du Printemps". The dress rehearsal had gone entirely smoothly. But Stravinsky’s new work was so unlike everything composed before that 2,000 people from the best circles of society became violent and called for a duel, rushing into the general turmoil until the police was forced to intervene. Meanwhile, the dancers undertook desperate attempts to perform the ballet, although the music was hardly audible, apart from the choreographer's directions from backstage.

In May 2016, shortly after the announcement that Andris Nelsons would become the next Gewandhauskapellmeister, the maestro and his new orchestra played a concert that focused on composers who each revolutionized the musical traditions of their time. "Le Sacre du Printemps" was the focus work of that concert and is being broadcast on Arte on 25 August at 17:40.

Igor Stravinsky
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Andris Nelsons, conductor

A production of Accentus Music in coproduction with MDR/Arte.

Production Company Accentus Music GmbH
Co-Production Company MDR/Arte
Executive Producer Paul Smaczny
Original title of music work Le Sacre du Printemps
Composer Igor Stravinsky
Director Ute Feudel
Orchestra / Band Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Conductor Andris Nelsons