Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
by David Kennard
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DVD details
Actor: Michael Tilson ThomasDirector: David Kennard
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: San Francisco Symphony
DVD Reviews of Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
DVD Review: An Enjoyable Music DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Music DVDs can be disappointing to some -- there's not always that much to actually watch, and efforts to utilize the sound and presentation fomats of DVD often meet with only limited success. That said, if you have as the subject a piece like the Rite of Spring, there's more than the usual antics to watch.
This DVD comprises an hour-long video production originally aired on PBS showing some history of the piece, cursory analysis, and occasional contributions from orchestra members. In general, it works well, though there are some strange inconsistencies. For example, in the opening sentence the beginning of the Danse Sacrale is referred to as its "climax;" and while Firebird is discussed in some detail there is no mention of the next ballet Stravinsky scored (Petrushka). There is an illustration of Stravinsky's "borrowing" Rimsky-Korsakov's music for The Firebird, but no mention of how this bothered some of Rimsky's surviving family. Homophobes will be pleased to learn that there is no discussion at all of relations between Nijinsky, Diaghilev or any other persons mentioned in the program.
There are occasional danced sections, apparently utilizing the "Hodson/Archer" reconstruction of the original choreography -- it's debatable how closely this approximates the original choreography, particularly since the Ballet Russes were unable to do so a half-dozen years after the premiere.
Overall, though, it's an engaging documentary and I think would make an excellent introduction to the work. I rather liked the contributions from the individual orchestra members.
The rest of the disk is given over to a good performance of three sections of The Firebird and a great performance of The Rite of Spring. The documentary included a bit of the Ronde Infernale from Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada that looked like it might have been from the same concert, but unfortunately that work is not included.
The Rite of Spring is the featured work here and the performance is indeed impressive. I haven't had a chance to listen in 5.1 format yet but the stereo sound is excellent. But what to do with the camera? One can't simply stay with a wide shot of the orchestra, or focus on the conductor. The solution employed here was to focus on the "featured instruments" in various passages. This makes for some tough choices and/or jarring edits, but considering the music inovolved it seems to work after all.
The concluding section is taken at a healthy clip as seems to have become fashionable (no complaints here). I occasionally see references to different "versions" of this work, but it doesn't have the clear revision history of Firebird or Petrushka. I see all the strange instruments of the "original" scoring: alto flute, E-flat trumpet, Wagner tubas etc. There is also a lot of holding the horns aloft; I went back to the score and indeed it is so marked. Another fun thing to look for in concert performance...
Description of Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
DVD, featuring Michael Tilson Thomas (Actor), David Kennard (Director).Classical Music CDs
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