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Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presents dance music that started a riot

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs next concert features two works – The Rite of Spring and Daphnis & Chloe that were originally commissioned by Serge Diaghilev for his dance company Ballets Russes ( the subject of a recent film). 

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring premiered on May 29, 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, conducted by Pierre Monteux. The audience reaction was so severe with Stravinsky’s intensely rhythmic and complex score and Nijinsky’s unconventional choreography featuring violent dance steps depicting fertility rites, that a riot broke out and the police had to be called.   This is not the reaction the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs expects with their presentation of the work with guest conductor Oleg Caetani and the Australian Youth Orchestra in August.

Today The Rite of Spring is familiar to audiences through its use in film including Walt Disney's Fantasia and with the similarities to the composition most obvious in John Williams' scores for Star Wars, Jaws, and the Indiana Jones trilogy.

Stravinsky’s  Symphony of Psalms (1930) is also featured in this concert. Stravinsky used an atypical orchestra for the piece, omitting violins, violas and clarinets while emphasizing double reeds, brass and two pianos, as well as chorus. The resulting effect is a work that is both expressive and profound.

Also on the program is Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloé (Suites 1 & 2)  a ballet that Ravel described as a "symphonie choréographique".  This was also commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet by Ballets Russes on June 8, 1912, conducted by Pierre Monteux. The choreography was by Michel Fokine and Vaslav Nijinsky danced the part of Daphnis.

Daphnis & Chloé is widely regarded as one of Ravel’s best works, with extraordinarily lush harmonies typical of the impressionist movement in music.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Oleg Caetani will be the guest conductor for this concert. An opera and concert conductor, he considers these two aspects of his work equally important.

He has a particularly close relationship with the Staatskapelle Dresdenwhich he has conducted for almost three decades (the first time when he was 20 years old), the Munich Philharmonic and the Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra in Milan, with whom he toured South America. He is currently recording Italy's first complete cycle of Shostakovitch's symphonies, with the Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra.

We are always pleased to be working with the Australian Youth Orchestra. What makes it an extraordinary orchestra is that its musicians must all be under 25 and their consistent excellence , energy, commitment and skill make it a landmark on Australia’s musical landscape. The AYO has performed in the finest concert halls around the world and taken part in major festivals including the BBC Proms and Edinburgh. Critics and audiences in Australia and throughout the world have thrilled to the sound of this musical icon.