The Rite of Spring

In May 1913, a few days before the premiere, Edition Russe de Musique published the composer's version of The Rite of Spring for piano four-hands. This piano reduction was primarily intended for study and rehearsal purposes, but in recent decades it has also found a home on the concert platform. The manuscript, partly in Stravinsky's and partly in a copyist's hand, was fully authorized by the composer. Long considered lost, it is now made available to the public for the first time. Not only does it allow a critical examination of the resulting printed edition, its detailed corrections also shed valuable light on Stravinsky's efforts to have his piece represented as accurately and idiomatically as possible on the piano.