An introduction to 'The Rite of Spring', by Igor Stravinsky The part I of the Rite of Spring starts with an "introduction". The texture at the very beginning is extremely thin, and the only instrument in use is the bassoon, in an unusually high tessatura. The bassoon is soon joined by the Horn, and later, a pair of clarinets. This little wind ensemble creates an eerie feeling, and the fact that tempo rubato is employed …showed first 75 words of 1754 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1754 total…in all Stravinsky's music, we see very little structure except when the initial theme is recapilulated near the end. The most common form of structure here is the re-use of a theme in all possible aspects (sort-of minimalism) and also the extensive use of ostinato. I think all these are based on thematic cross-references. Stravinsky must have been a very good mathematician to be able to write works like this: it's all carefully worked out.