Suzanne Farrell dances Stravinsky Variations for Orchestra
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Igor Stravinsky, in 1963, wrote to Aldous Huxley’s brother, Sir Julian Huxley:
"I loved Aldous deeply and his death has been a terrible shock and loss to me. I am still
unable to think about it and I cannot write about him. I have tried- indeed struggled-
to compose a tribute for your book to his memory, but I cannot find words for my
feelings. Since I came to California a quarter of a century ago, Aldous has been a
guiding spirit to me. And I feel lost without that spirit and that dearest friend."
In a letter to Nadia Boulanger, the famous teacher, composer, and conductor, Stravinsky wrote this to his dear friend:
"The Variations, dedicated to the memory of Aldous Huxley, has no connection with his
work. I was composing it during the months in which dear Aldous was dying of throat
cancer. Thus it was only natural that I dedicate this work to his memory. Furthermore, I
am certain, though it does not discourage me, that this music would mean nothing to him
or that it would displease him, because he liked romantic and classical music very foreign
to my composition."
#SuzanneFarrell #Stravinsky #Balanchine
#VariationsforOrchestra
Thank you so much for posting this rarity. Suzanne Farrell wrote in her memoir, “Holding On to the Air”: “Despite Mr. B’s steadily failing health, we managed to have a good time when we rehearsed. One day he said, ‘I don’t know how much I can do today. I’m very dizzy.’ I said, ‘Well, just do what you want, and I’ll be back here trying to get it.’ He proceeded to do some truly wild movement, and when I reproduced it for him, he looked at me and said, ‘Is that what I did?‘ and we both laughed so hard that we had to take a five-minute break to recover. The movement, of course, remained in the ballet. After the première he came to my dressing room, as he had so many times before. His eyes gleamed with a familiar look of mischief, and he said with great satisfaction, ‘The music is a mess, and now, you’re a mess. You look just like the music. It’s wonderful.’ It was one more miraculous dance among many; I also think I knew that it was the last.”
The way she dances such a difficult choreography and the way her musicality is shown to an abstract piece of music, is amazing.What a dancer!
Thanks so very much for posting this very-hard-to-see collaborative effort. I'm very grateful--as a fan of Balanchine, Farrell and Stravinsky. Thanks again.
Thank you indeed. I love it and love all things Farrell and Balanchine.
Absolutely brilliant. The music really comes alive. Both it and the dancing are quite witty in places.
Stravinsky was visiting Balanchine and was about to leave, when Farrell ran after him and told him how much she loved dancing to his music. Stravinsky turned and said "Yes, I know dear. I can see that."
A timeless choreography performed by a ballet queen ...
...I found a few of my VHS tapes from the 80s, with interesting stuff such as this....
Anymore Suzanne?
Please post whatever you can! Thank you!
Magnificent - certainly, there’s nothing out there now that comes anywhere near this *sigh*
So cool to see this lost Balanchine-Farrell gem. Thank you so much for posting it!
Impressive. Thanks for posting.
Bravo! and Brava!
Noone is as leggy and modern as Farrell. A little joy.
Balanchine was new , ever new. He had such a great feel for what trends....and dang if he would let it go that most all of it came from BALLET 😂 A TRUE HERO
Much as I love Stravinsky, up through AGON... I just can't "go there" with this sort of thing. I think he listened too much to Robert Craft.
I know she is a great dancer; I just don't care for the music or choreography of this piece at all.
Can Stravinsky's instrumental noise be called music?
YES. To those with ears.
a LOT of crazy counting. Stravinsky is a bit erratic for my taste, but Suzanne was a lovely dancer. l would love to watch the ''Midsummer nights Dream'' film with her dancing, but l cannot FIND it anywhere.
That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. That music doesn’t call for dancing is the reason.
Balanchine declared everything composed by Stravinsky was meant to be danced to...
Patricia, if you look deeper into the history of Balanchine you would see that this is exactly the music that Balanchine dared to choreograph to. Look at Momentum/Movements and Agon or Episodes First Movement. The magic is that he did it, and once you learned the steps it all made perfect sense. Musically it may not seem fitting to the usual music utilized for ballet, but nothing about Balanchine is or was or will ever be usual. He could choreograph to Tchaikovsky/ Brahms/Mozart and to Stravinsky. That was his magic/his genius.
@@susanlondoner1946 Thank you for you comment. I just saw you in Chaconne you were exquisite you have such a beautiful line.
The problem is that sazanne was a girl pushed because of a mans lust and not because of her talent which she had far less of compared to all the other girls of that era.
I am pretty sure Balanchine solicited Stravinsky's approval when he choreographed to his music , There are countless photographs of Stravinsky in the rehearsal studio with Balanchine , I have even seen a video with Stravinsky , Balanchine and Farrell going over a ballet . If Stravinsky didn't like the choreography he would have the last word and Balanchine changed the choreography to his liking .
She is clunky and moves heavily in this piece. Not her best.
The 'music" is clunky, that's why.
Terrible just terrible
Wonderful just wonderful
With all due respect to both Balanchine and Farrell, this isn’t quite what one would expect.