Stravinsky by Picasso
Stravinsky by Picasso, 1920
Summer Stravinsky Festival with Valery Gergiev
REVIEWS SO FAR!
'It's with music like this that the LSO really shows its class'
Daily Telegraph on The Firebird, 11 May
'I have been in grand halls where the audience seemed less gripped.'
The Times on BMW LSO Open Air Classics, 12 May
'Under Gergiev’s watchful eye and delicate baton, the LSO’s musicians gave a wonderful account of the score.'
Bachtrack on The Soldier's Tale, 13 May
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One of the undeniable highlights of the LSO’s 2011/12 season is right around the corner – a festival of five concerts, spread across three venues (the Barbican, LSO St Luke’s and Trafalgar Square), celebrating the many faces of composer Igor Stravinsky and led by one of the most powerful champions of Russian music today, LSO Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev. With repertoire ranging from the iconic Firebird and Rite of Spring to the hidden curiosities of Stravinsky's jazz miniatures, appearances from guests including Greek virtuoso violinist Leonidas Kavakos and actor Simon Callow, and the chance to choose your setting, this all-encompassing series promises something for everyone
The Man
Stravinsky is frequently cast against contemporaries Shostakovich and Prokofiev as an example of a somehow less inherently Russian creator: born in St Petersburg, his 60-year career saw him settle in Switzerland, France and finally the US, where he lived until his death in 1971. His music is, on the surface, similarly cosmopolitan. The early ballets for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes – The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring – and the Russian fairytale-based Renard plus The Soldier’s Tale form a loose ‘Russian’ period; Oedipus Rex and the Violin Concerto are part of his ‘neo-classical’ period which saw a return to the form, order and balance of the late 18th century, and reached an apex whilst the composer was in Paris. Then there is a body of serial works which developed post-1945, once Stravinsky had become a US citizen. But Gergiev insists that Stravinsky’s ‘Russianness’ did not simply cease to be when he left for the West, aged 28...
> Watch Valery Gergiev discuss Stravinsky
> LSO mini documentary about The Rite of Spring
The Concerts
Choral splendour & solo violin frolics
Fri 11 May 7.30pm Barbican
Mass | Violin Concerto in D | The Firebird – complete ballet
with Leonidas Kavakos violin & London Symphony Chorus
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Free concert: Stravinsky live in Trafalgar Square
Sat 12 May 6.30pm Trafalgar Square
Fireworks | The Firebird – suite | The Rite of Spring
with Paul Rissmann presenter
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Folk tales from Russia
Sun 13 May 7.30pm Barbican
Renard | The Soldier's Tale
with Simon Callow narrator & LSO Chamber Ensemble
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PLUS 'Backstage Pass': free pre-concert talk for young people and their families:
> More information on Backstage Pass
The music that rocked the 20th century & neo-classical tragedy
Tue 15 May 7.30pm Barbican
The Rite of Spring | Oedipus Rex
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Influences from Harlem, New Orleans & Chicago
Thu 17 May 8pm LSO St Luke's
Fanfare for Two Trumpets | Ebony Concerto | Ragtime
with Timothy Redmond conductor & LSO Chamber Orchestra
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