The Hallé – The Rite of Spring at The Bridgewater Hall

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Book now

The Hallé - The Rite of Spring

The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre
29 November 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

The Hallé
Book now

This concert features three highly contrasting masterpieces: The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, Verklärte Nacht by Arnold Schoenberg, and Parade by Erik Satie. Composed within a timeframe of eighteen years, each of these works represents a significant landmark in our cultural history. This programme will be conducted by Sir Mark Elder and performed by the Hallé Orchestra, in a concert which promises to thrill.

Few musical works have had such a profound influence or evoked such controversy as The Rite of Spring. The notoriety of its premiere in Paris in 1913 is well-documented. In addition to the outrageous costumes, provocative choreography and bizarre story, Stravinsky’s seminal music was perceived by the audience to be utterly scandalous. With an explosive sense of musical movement, it is angular, dissonant and unpredictable, featuring irregular rhythms which totally sidestepped conventions in Classical and Romantic music. Over one hundred years after its conception, the composer’s extraordinary evocation of pagan fertility rites retains its ability to rouse, excite, and shock.

Presented alongside The Rite of Spring is Schoenberg’s breakthrough work, Verklärte Nacht, in which the abundantly inventive composer pushed traditional tonality close to the point of no return. Veering between diatonic purity and unnerving chromaticism, the work foreshadowed Schoenberg’s infamous serial music, which would come later in his career. Inspired by a poem by Richard Dehmel, Verklärte Nacht is credited as the first programmatic chamber music, taking Liszt and Strauss’s orchestral tone poems into a more intimate arena. Passionately charged, the piece is poised precariously between faith and despair. Perhaps it is this instability which makes it still resonate in the world of 2018.

Joining these pieces is Parade by Erik Satie. The composer’s first ballet, its premiere provoked an even bigger riot than The Rite of Spring’s four years earlier. This was of course no usual ballet. In a project which is hard now to believe actually existed, Parade was a collaboration of Europe’s leading avant-garde artists: Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, who created Parade for Sergei Diaghilev’s dance company the Ballets Russes. It was deeply experimental, and brought common street entertainment into the high art of ballet for the first time. Matching Picasso’s bold aesthetic, Satie’s surreal score was bizarre in the best possible way, with instrumentation that included gun shots, sirens and a typewriter. We look forward to seeing how this wild score is negotiated at The Bridgewater Hall!

 

 

What's on at The Bridgewater Hall

Walking Tour Stock imagery
Until
ActivityCity Centre
The Manchester Music Walkabout

Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around the city, which will take you from the 1960s to the present day.

From £25.00

Where to go near The Hallé – The Rite of Spring at The Bridgewater Hall

Manchester
Restaurant
Midland Tea Room

Dating back to 1903, Manchester’s stately Midland Hotel now has its own dedicated tea room. Expect traditional offerings in elegant surroundings.

City Centre
Hotel
The Midland Hotel

With 312 luxurious bedrooms, the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel occupies one of the most beautiful and storied buildings in Manchester.

Society Manchester
City Centre
Society Manchester

Society Manchester is a glorious indoor and outdoor space in the very heart of the city, with five street food vendors to choose from and a range of high-quality drinks.

Manchester
Restaurant
Friska

Latest branch of Friska, the independent healthy fast food chain.

Manchester
Restaurant
Don Giovanni

Traditional Italian restaurant, serving everything from pizza to steak. All this in a large modern venue with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Haunt MCR
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Haunt MCR

Haunt MCR is a speciality coffee shop and wine bar located on Manchester’s bustling Peter Street.

Manchester
Restaurant
Jaan

Serving up exceptional Persian cuisine, this new food concept from the team behind Another Hand is a must-try.

Manchester
Restaurant
Exhibition

Exhibition hosts three of the city’s most celebrated independent kitchens: Osma, Baratxuri, and Jaan by Another Hand.

City Centre
Restaurant
ONDA Pasta Bar

ONDA is a treat for the tastebuds. Long dark wood tables are shared by eager diners, as tapas-style plates of fresh pasta and other Italian dishes are ferried around the restaurant.

City Centre
Restaurant
Nudo Sushi Box

Nudo Sushi Box on Manchester’s Oxford Road specialises in freshly-prepared boxes of – you guessed it – sushi.

What's on: Music

Overmono at The Warehouse Project
MusicManchester
WHP25: Overmono at Depot Mayfield

Electronic powerhouse duo Overmono return to The Warehouse Project to curate a show featuring a huge line-up of pals at the top of their game.

From £49.50
Wisp Press Image
MusicManchester
Wisp at The Deaf Institute

Shoegaze’s unlikely resurgence has catapulted 20-year-old Wisp from iPhone demos to Coachella. In support of her debut album, she headlines The Deaf Institute.

From £19.25
the band
Music
YHWH Nailgun at The White Hotel

Laying down dizzying assaults that ricochet between math-rock chaos and primal fury, YHWH Nailgun bring their debut album to The White Hotel.

From £14

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...