Classical Notes: December 15, 2009 Archive

The SPCO's Stravinsky Festival

Posted at 12:40 PM on December 15, 2009 by Gillian Martin
Filed under: Concerts

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra sure knows how to warm up a Minnesota January. In 2009, they did it with their International Chamber Orchestra Festival. In 2010, they'll spice things up with their three-week-long Stravinsky Festival.

It will feature a concert performance (no sets, no costumes) of Stravinsky's only opera, The Rake's Progress, as well as performances of several of his ballet scores. The festival culminates in a joint performance by the SPCO and the Minnesota Orchestra of Stravinsky's earth-shaking (or at the very least, floor-board shaking!) The Rite of Spring.

For your enjoyment, here's a 1965 video of the great man himself conducting the "Lullaby and Final Hymn" from his ballet Firebird.