Indulge in Elgar’s profoundly expressive Cello Concerto with worldwide acclaimed Israeli-American Cellist Amit Peled.
Then experience the music that caused a riot – the provocatively primitive and viscerally powerful Rite of Spring by
Stravinsky. March 26th is an opportunity to experience one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century. “Music is the sole
domain in which humans realize the present. I haven’t understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.” – Igor
Stravinsky
The Helena Symphony will also be joined by internationally acclaimed Cellist Amit Peled. Praised by The Strad
magazine and The New York Times, internationally renowned Israeli-American Cellist Amit Peled is acclaimed as one of
the most exciting and virtuosic instrumentalists on the concert stage today. Having performed in many of the world’s most
prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York, The John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., Salle Gaveau in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the
Konzerthaus Berlin, Mr. Peled has released over a dozen recordings on the Naxos, Centaur, Delos, and CTM Classics
labels.
“The Rite of Spring is easily one of the most important works of the 20th century” said Maestro Allan R. Scott about
the Helena Symphony’s upcoming Masterworks V concert. “The Rite of Spring is rarely performed in Montana; this is an
incredible opportunity to experience Igor Stravinsky’s visceral and powerful masterpiece.”
Masterworks V will be presented thanks to the generosity of our sponsors Deloitte, Mosaic Architecture, the Carolina Bed
& Breakfast, Treasure State Internet & Telegraph, and AARP Montana!
Like Stravinsky’s previous two ballet successes, the Rite of Spring is rooted in Russian folklore, and it represents
pagan Russia, conveying the mystery and emergence of the creative power of Spring. Stravinsky divided the 30-minute
ballet sequence into two parts: “The Adoration of the Earth” and “The Great Sacrifice.”
While millions of have certainly experienced Fantasia – Disney’s 1941 interpretation of Stravinsky’s score to Rite of
Spring, the work has nothing to do with prehistoric creatures evolving from primordial slime. It does, however, evoke a
newly found primitivism complete with harmonic dissonances and incessant rhythms bending melodies until the entire
concept of Western music explodes into a savaged frenzy.
By many accounts, the audience’s outrage was more about the dance than then music itself. “I have never again been that
angry,” wrote Stravinsky. “The music was so familiar to me; I loved it, and I could not understand why people who had
not heard it wanted to protest so quickly.” At the first concert performance (without the choreography) a year after the
premiere, the audience erupted with excitement and carried Stravinsky as a hero throughout the theatre and into the
streets. Today it remains an iconic concert piece that is still equally as captivating, visceral, and at times, disturbing –
grasping our physical and psychological attention. It remains one of the decisive turning points in all of music where
everything from symphonic music to rock and roll are explained in their relationship to Stravinsky’s the Rite of Spring.
American legendary composer Aaron Copland said in 1951 that Rite of Spring is “the foremost orchestral achievement of
the 20th century,” and Time Magazine proclaimed in 1998 that “there is not a composer who lived during Stravinsky’s
time or is alive today who has not been touched and sometimes transformed by the Rite of Spring.” Irrespective of our
reaction to the Rite of Spring, we certainly realize the power of life, the power of creativity, and the vitality we have when
we truly experience something evocative.
HOMESTREAM YOUR HELENA SYMPHONY PRESENTED BY AARP MONTANA
The Helena Symphony is especially grateful to AARP Montana, who secured the naming rights to HomeStream Your
Helena Symphony in 2020. “AARP Montana is so excited to help bring the artistic excellence of the Helena Symphony’s
music-making to people in the safety of their homes,” says Tim Summers, State Director of AARP Montana.
How?
These live streams can be viewed on a smart phone, tablet, laptop and desktop computers, smart televisions, and
televisions connected to the internet – or anywhere you have access to YouTube. Most televisions offer YouTube as an
app or can be attached to another computing device to watch on the big screen. While nothing can replace the experience
of attending a live performance, we feel that the live stream offers an exciting and new way to enjoy a concert. Each
stream will be shot by 6-7 cameras and the camera crew will be able to operate within the Orchestra, offering close-up
shots of musicians, front-side views of Maestro Scott, and visuals that are not possible by sitting in the auditorium. There
will also be a pre-concert host, and short backstage interviews throughout the evening.
There is no charge for the HomeStream Your Helena Symphony presented by AARP Montana, which will be
available on YouTube and the Helena Symphony’s website. There will be an option available online and through Venmo
to donate to the Helena Symphony.