Stravinsky Violin Concerto

Agon/ Symphony in Three Movements

The music:

The term 'concerto' refers to a piece of music written for one or more solo instruments and an orchestra. Stravinsky claimed he had not been influenced by anyone else's work when creating this concerto. 'I do not like the standard violin concertos', he said, 'not Mozart's, Beethoven's, Mendelssohn's or Brahms's. To my mind, the only masterpiece in the field is Schoenberg's, and that was written several years after mine.'

In his wonderfully accessible and upbeat score, Stravinsky began each movement using a chord that his solo violinist initially declared impossible to play. Unrepentant, Stravinsky sent him home with strict instructions to discover a way of doing so, a task the musician thankfully achieved.

The dance:

Throughout the ballet Balanchine contrasts the movements of groups of tall and small dancers, picking up and using ideas in the music. For example, in the first movement, each time Stravinsky changes the mood or sound of his music, Balanchine changes his group. This happens nine times in all.

The two middle, slower movements are pas de deux (dances for two people), the first for a tall woman and a small man and the second for a small woman and tall man.

The last movement opens with fast scales running up and down the violin and a lively, spiky sounding melody. This is danced by all the tall members of the cast and a small male soloist. A few minutes in, when the violin starts playing smoother music, the group changes to all of the small dancers and a tall male soloist. Shortly after, when the fast scales that opened the movement come back, the first group join the second on stage for the grand finale.