Stravinsky Ballets

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Igor Stravinsky was one of the most successful and influential composers of the 20th century and the most significant part of his output was in music for dance. His involvement with the Ballets Russes in Paris from 1909 to 1929 and his nearly fifty years of collaboration with the choreographer George Balanchine put him at the center of the dance world in an era where dance was the center of the art world, involving most of the great visual, theatrical, and musical artists of the century. This course will examine key works from The Firebird (1910), his inaugural work for the Ballets Russes, to Violin Concerto, choreographed by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet’s massive Stravinsky Festival of 1972 in memory of the composer, and will include multiple versions of ballets like The Rite of Spring, Les Noces, and Pulcinella. We will approach each work as a collaboration, involving music, choreography, design, performance, and cultural history. Readings will complement listening, viewing, and discussion, and will include philosophy, art history, and anthropology as well as music and dance. Students will design their own projects throughout the course, building a portfolio suited to their interests but also stretching their boundaries (for instance, music students will have to come to grips with visual sources, and students without musical training will explore other ways of dealing with sound structures.). Pre-requisites: MUSC-114 or MUSC-141 or permission of instructor.