Customer Reviews

The Rite of Spring in Full Score (Dover Music Scores)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone who loves music in general as much as I do, Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring can be, to say the least, a shockingly intense listening experience, full of strangely dissonant polytonal simultaneities, overwhelming rhythmic dephasing, and colorful details and timbristic effects that take maximum advantage of what a great symphony orchestra has to offer. This edition of the translated original score allows you a better understanding of this revolutionary musical monsterpiece, with visual complement to what your ears couldn't even consider figuring out. Sometimes it's simpler than you would imagine; sometimes it's much, much more complex. This work taught me a great deal about music composition & arranging, and the book also allowed me to write a reduction of the "Spring Rounds" for a 7-piece band.

The Rite of Spring is perhaps the best known of Stravinsky`s ballet works together with The firebird and Petrushka. And in my opinion, it is the most modern, fascinating and thrilling of the three pieces, as well as a definitive reference for most of 20th century music. When you hear it, you can realize of how Stravinsky masters orchestration, colours and atmospheres in an incredible way. And with this score, very clear and easy readable, you can appreciate its greatness much better. Definitely recommended, and very worth the price.

From Jordan in Minnesota
In 1998 I bought the original score of Le Sacre du Printemps from Kalmus for 65.00 dollars!! Although the Kalmus version in cited from numerous musicians and stravinsky himself, this version of dovers is well worth the 10 dollars!! It is pretty much the same as Kalmus' but it has no chief editor, and since its a reprint it will have the same concept as the Kalmus score, only it is 55.00 dollars cheaper. If anyone wants the 4 extra pages of the kalmus version that compares the scores, I would be happy to copy it and send them, as long as people realize that the Kalmus version as of January 16 2006 is almost 100.00. So stick with this dover version it will definately save you the money!!
cojo0502@stcloudstate.edu

Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is excellent, but even if it weren't, this score would still be wonderful.

Major positive points:
1) The score stays open and flat on a table or conductor's stand. Dover seems to take great care with this in their full scores, and it really makes score reading/studying much simpler.

2) The paper is thin enough to keep the size of the score small, but it's thick enough that markings/highlighting don't bleed through, which is wonderful.

3) Every system has either instrument names or understandable abbreviations.

4) MEASURE NUMBERS!

5) The music is dark and easy to read. There are no faded or missing barlines, which is a problem I seem to encounter with Kalmus and Lucks scores, as well as Dover miniature editions.

6) Attractive layout and engraving. This doesn't just look like a Finale print, unlike some other new scores.

I've always been proved with Dover's orchestral scores, and this is no exception. I worked from the Boosey's score last semester, and I definitely prefer this one.

I actually bought The Rite of Spring for me boyfriend, who is a musician. He loved it! Here in Brazil music sheets like this are extremely rare and expensive, so it sure was the perfect gift. :)

If you are enthralled with the Rite's rhythm, harmony, or whatever... this is the perfect opportunity to see the orchestration and metric usage. As someone who loves the Rite, and analyzing music, this was a no brainer. Cheap and easy to read. Absolutely fantastic.

This score is easy to follow, for what's one of the most complicated pieces in music history. I'm not sure about other versions available, but I've been satisfied with this one.

Can anyone actually imagine playing this difficult piece for 33 minutes? If you look inside, you can see the many complexities that are within the score. Time signatures change almost constantly, brass play twenty random notes in one measure, tubas play much higher notes than usual, strings do a lot of plucking, and the woodwinds go all over the place in many scenes )including the Introduction to the "Adoration of the Earth" sequence). This just shows you how much of a genius Stavinsky really was. Fantastic!

Oh, and I never performed this piece, so that's why I was asking in the first place...............

It's no secret that "Vjesná Svjashchjénnaja" ("Spring Consecrated", a literal translation of the original Russian title) is an exceedingly difficult piece to understand on first hearing (and it can take many hearings for it to clear up). This is doubly so if all one can do is hear a recording. A score is essential for it to be fully understood - and what better way to handle this challenge than via this reprint from a Soviet edition (outstandingly accurate yet inexpensive)?

[Knowing how usually often Dover editions are very good if not excellent (notably their Richard Strauss, Chaykóvskiy, Brahms, Debussy and many others!) is all the more reason not to waste money on another edition (unless one absolutely MUST have the most current redraft he made in an attempt to get more money over the piece's copyright-lifetime). Excellently sized yet beautifully bound, easy to read - and accurate!! This is a steal!!!]

Another bonus: you also get to sample some of the thinking and ideology that Communism was forcing on its people in all regards and all walks of life - outstanding reminder of what political correctness can do to us all(this warning especially meant for those who believe in it in any way whatsoever...)!! Buy this without delay!!!

"The Rite of Spring In Full Score" contains the complete unabridged score of composer Igor Stravinsky's timeless classic "The Rite Of Spring". Besides presenting the full musical notation for the entire piece, this book also contains a brief but detailed history on the work. Looking at the score is an astounding revelation into Stravinsky's creative genius. What often sounds like pure noise on recordings and in performance is in reality carefully notated and fully realized. In other words, Stravinsky knew exactly what he was after when he composed "The Rite of Spring" and the score proves it in all its glory. Even if you can't read music, if you're a fan of Igor Stravinsky and "The Rite Of Spring", this score is an essential guide and study tool to this revolutionary work. It also offers an insight into the composer's fascinating creative mind.