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What we are listening to now are the opening notes of the orchestral work The Rite of Spring, originally composed as a ballet by Igor Stravinsky. The Rite of Spring is popularly regarded as a revolutionary piece of music, the likes of which had never been seen before. I believe that I am qualified to discuss this topic, for in addition to having taken several courses on music history and instrumental performance, I have listened to The Rite of Spring in many recordings, and recently I was privileged to attend a live performance of it. I am here to introduce you to this wonderful piece of music, and will do so by discussing the legendary story of its debut, the central themes of the piece, and shall conclude with an exploration of the relevance of this piece to modern listeners.

Now, we all know how a particularly exciting soccer match or political rally can result in a riot. But, have you ever heard of a piece of music causing a riot? Well, that is precisely what happened on the debut performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. According to The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians, “...the first performance of [The Rite of Spring] in Paris on 29 May 1913 incited a colorful riot” (639). Colorful would be an understatement. Minutes into the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet, audience members were literally shouting in discontent. It was not long before the entire audience was divided, and loudly arguing over the music, and shortly thereafter, the audience's discontent turned physical. When members of the audience began to literally attack each other with their fists, the ballet coordinators knew that it was time to call in the police to restore order. Now, what was all this hubbub about? Why were all these Parisians becoming so flustered? Well, the French take their music very seriously, and The Rite of Spring could very well be seen as an attack upon the very foundations of music.

One of those foundational...