Stravinsky: Rite of Spring centenary publications announced

(October 2012)

The Paul Sacher Foundation and Boosey & Hawkes are publishing three special edition volumes to celebrate the centenary of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in 2013, including the first publication on sale of the facsimile of the composer’s autograph full score.

In honour of the centenary of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in 2013, the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, which houses the Stravinsky archive, is issuing a special Centenary Edition in collaboration with Boosey & Hawkes. Three volumes are to be published for the first time: an annotated facsimile of the magnificent autograph full score, another of the composer’s version for piano four-hands and a new collection of essays by leading Stravinsky scholars.

Due to be published in late May 2013, the three volumes can be pre-ordered – individually and as a collection – from any good music shop or online retailer including The Shop at Boosey.com.

Full details can be found in the following brochure PDFs:

> UK, Europe, Africa and Asia (English) (PDF)
> Europe (German) (PDF)
> North & South America and Australasia (English) (PDF)

One hundred years ago, on May 29, 1913, a seminal work of the 20th century was premiered in Paris: Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. It was an epochal moment in the history of both music and ballet, and it signalled the breakthrough into Modernism. Subtitled ‘Scenes from Pagan Russia’, it is a work of international scope created as a collaboration among leading figures working in multiple genres – and a masterpiece of extraordinary artistic potency. The Rite reflects an entire century, and is reflected there in return.

Facsimile of the autograph full score
Edited by Ulrich Mosch
With an introduction in German and English

This magnificent manuscript is undoubtedly one of the most important documents, not only of Stravinsky’s oeuvre, but of the entire holdings of the Paul Sacher Foundation. The expressive calligraphy, for which the composer had a fine talent, distinguishes the autograph score in a very special way. Abounding in corrections as well as conducting and publication markings, this manuscript initiated a long process of revision that lasted for decades as the work was extensively edited for publication from 1922 onwards. The edition allows a wider readership to see Stravinsky’s Rite in its original forms for the first time, thereby providing an opportunity to further engage with this seminal work of art.

Facsimile of the version for piano four-hands
Edited by Felix Meyer
With an introduction in German and English

In May 1913, a few days before the premiere, Édition Russe de Musique published the composer’s version of The Rite of Spring for piano four-hands. This piano reduction was primarily intended for study and rehearsal purposes, but in recent decades it has also found a home on the concert platform. The manuscript, partly in Stravinsky’s and partly in a copyist’s hand, was fully authorized by the composer. Long considered lost, it is now made available to the public for the first time. Not only does it allow a critical examination of the resulting printed edition, its detailed corrections also shed valuable light on Stravinsky’s efforts to have his piece represented as accurately and idiomatically as possible on the piano.

Avatar of Modernity
The Rite of Spring Reconsidered
Edited by Hermann Danuser and Heidy Zimmermann
18 Essays in English

This richly illustrated collection of 18 essays provides an overview of current research on The Rite of Spring, opening new perspectives on the work and its impact. Turning to previously unknown sources, the essays cover the circumstances of The Rite’s emergence, its contexts and revolutionary potential, as well as its cultural background, poised between archaism and modernity. The myths surrounding the work are critically examined, and the first century of its international reception is viewed from a wide range of vantage points, from choreographic and musical realizations to the responses of composers and analysts.

With contributions by Jan Assmann, Jonathan Bernard, Tobias Bleek, John E. Bowlt, Esteban Buch, Jonathan Cross, Lynn Garafola, Paul Griffiths, Edmund Griffiths, Claudia Jeschke, Stefanie Jordan, Andreas Meyer, Herfried Münkler, Robert Piencikowski, Swetlana Savenko, Arne Stollberg, Richard Taruskin and Stephen Walsh.

The three volumes will be published in late May 2013, the month of the centenary of The Rite of Spring's premiere, and will be available from any good music shop or online retailer including The Shop at Boosey.com.

> Further information on Work: The Rite of Spring

Photo: Booseyprints.com

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