Stravinsky's 'Riot' of Spring?

Synopsis Today’s date marks the anniversary of one of the most famous — and notorious — premieres in the history of classical music, that of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps ( The Rite of Spring ), in Paris on May 29, 1913. From its first note — sounded by the bassoon at the extreme end of its highest register — Stravinsky’s score signaled the start of something radically different. It’s also remembered as the occasion of one of the most emotional reactions by any audience: catcalls and insults were hurled between the composer’s supporters and detractors, fistfights broke out and finally the police were called. There were those, including Pierre Monteux, the conductor of the premiere, who felt the reactions were occasioned more by the dancing and the stage picture than by the music itself. Years later, when Monteux was asked what he thought of the original production, he confessed to everyone’s amusement that he actually never saw it, because his eyes were glued to the score. “On hearing this near riot behind me, I decided to keep the orchestra together at any cost … I did, and we played it to the end absolutely as we had rehearsed it in the peace of an empty theatre,” he wrote. Music Played in Today's Program Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): The Rite of Spring ; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor; London 436 469

You can listen to Stravinsky's 'Riot' of Spring? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Stravinsky's 'Riot' of Spring? is an episode from Composers Datebook by American Public Media.

This episode is 00:02:00 long.

This episode was published on May 29, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Composers Datebook when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.