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Dancers in the 1913 production of The Rite of Spring

Dancers in the 1913 production of the ballet

The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky and stage designs and costumes (pictured) by Nicholas Roerich. The ballet caused a near-riot in the audience when first performed, on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, but rapidly achieved success, and later became recognised as one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. The score has many novel features, including experiments in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance. The scenario is the celebration of spring by various primitive rituals, at the end of which a sacrificial victim dances herself to death. After its explosive premiere the ballet was not performed until the 1920s, when Léonide Massine's rechoreographed version was the first of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading choreographers. Providing "endless stimulation for performers and listeners" alike, The Rite is among the most recorded works in the classical repertoire. (Full article...)

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In the news

Jared Butler

In basketball, the Baylor Bears defeat the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win the NCAA Division I Men's Championship (MOP Jared Butler pictured).
Cyclone Seroja makes landfall in Indonesia and East Timor, killing at least 160 people and displacing thousands of others.
In rowing, both Cambridge men's and women's crews win The Boat Race.
An express train derails in Hualien County, Taiwan, killing at least 50 people.
Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman receive the Turing Award for their work on programming language compilers.

On this day

April 6: Tartan Day

Cover of the official report for the 1896 Olympics

1250 – Seventh Crusade: Egyptian Ayyubid forces defeated the Crusader army at the Battle of Fariskur in Egypt, capturing King Louis IX of France as a hostage.
1808 – John Jacob Astor founded the American Fur Company, the profits from which made him the first multi-millionaire in the United States.
1896 – The first modern Olympic Games (cover of official report shown) opened in Athens, with athletes from 14 nations participating in 43 events.
1941 – World War II: German forces invaded Greece, beginning Operation Marita.
2009 – Mass protests began across Moldova against the results of the parliamentary election.

Henry Barrowe (d. 1593)
René Lalique (b. 1860)
Ng Ser Miang (b. 1949)

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The inauguration of John Tyler as the tenth president of the United States took place on April 6, 1841, in Washington, D.C., following the death of President William Henry Harrison two days earlier. This was the first non-scheduled, extraordinary presidential inauguration to take place in American history. Having received news of Harrison's death, Tyler traveled to Washington from his home in Williamsburg, Virginia by steamboat and train, the fastest means of conveyance then available, taking 21 hours.

Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew Shiva

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