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Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was possibly the first no-wave composer. A Russian music revolutionary. The guy wrote the Rite of Spring in 1913, an infamous pillar of classical modernity, and the audience flipped. Not in a “this is far out” way but in a “we hate this so much we are going to tear this place apart and kill the moron who insulted us ” kind of way. Take that James Chance, Arto Lindsey, Jandek, Phillip Glass, Edgard Varèse, Pauline Oliveros, etc., etc. etc. Come to think of it they all did take that—and ran with it. Every avant composer creating in the classical/pop/new music/whatever genre since owes Stravinsky a nod.
Rites remains a powerful and jarring work. And has a deserved spot in the top ten list of the classical modern canon. Mobtown Modern Jazz Ensemble pays homage to the original but wisely gives it an appropriate womp in the arse with a pumped rearranged jazz version that includes some hep metallic heat. (For the full story of the new composition/composer read the excellent article by Lauren LaRocca, published in the Fredrick News Post.) The Mobtown Modern Jazz Ensemble performed this rearranged version they rechristened The Rites of Swing at Metro Gallery, located in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, as part of a new music series presented by the Contemporary Museum. The performance was Wednesday, May 12.
This performance held such promise New Yorker music maven Alex Ross gave the event a positive thumbs up on his blog.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/alexross/2010/05/miscellany-rite-of-swing-etc.html
Want to hear it as it was performed live? You are in luck! You can watch and listen to the event right here. RADAR REDUX webcast the performance live via our Ustream page and now offers it in continuous rebroadcast rotation.
Mobtown Modern: Rite Of Swing
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 – 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Metro Gallery
1700 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Tags: Contemporary Museum, Jazz, Metro Gallery, Mobtown Modern, Mobtown Modern Jazz Ensemble, Music, Rites of Spring, Rites of Swing, Stavinsky
Filed Under: Feature Sights
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