Agon (ballet)
Encyclopedia
Agon is a ballet
for twelve dancers, with music by Igor Stravinsky
and choreography by George Balanchine
. Composition began in December 1953 and concluded in April 1957; the music was first performed on June 17, 1957 in Los Angeles
conducted by Robert Craft
, while the first stage performance was given by the New York City Ballet
on December 1, 1957 at the City Center of Music and Drama
, New York
. The composition's long gestation period covers an interesting juncture in Stravinsky's composing career, in which he moved from a diatonic
musical language to one based on twelve-tone technique
; the music of the ballet thus demonstrates a unique symbiosis of musical idioms. The ballet has no story, but consists of a series of dance movements in which various groups of dancers interact in pairs, trios, quartets etc. A number of the movements are based on 17th-century French court dances – saraband
, galliard and bransle
. It was danced as part of City Ballet's 1982 Stravinsky Centennial Celebration.
, 3 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, English horn, 2 clarinet
s, bass clarinet
, 2 bassoon
s, contrabassoon
, 4 horn
s, 4 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s (2 tenor, 1 bass), harp
, piano
, mandolin
, timpani
, tom-tom
, xylophone
, castanet
s, and strings
.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
for twelve dancers, with music by Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
and choreography by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
. Composition began in December 1953 and concluded in April 1957; the music was first performed on June 17, 1957 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
conducted by Robert Craft
Robert Craft
Robert Lawson Craft is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.-Life:...
, while the first stage performance was given by the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
on December 1, 1957 at the City Center of Music and Drama
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The composition's long gestation period covers an interesting juncture in Stravinsky's composing career, in which he moved from a diatonic
Diatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
musical language to one based on twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
; the music of the ballet thus demonstrates a unique symbiosis of musical idioms. The ballet has no story, but consists of a series of dance movements in which various groups of dancers interact in pairs, trios, quartets etc. A number of the movements are based on 17th-century French court dances – saraband
Sarabande
In music, the sarabande is a dance in triple metre. The second and third beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of quarter notes and eighth notes in alternation...
, galliard and bransle
Branle
A branle l)—also bransle, brangle, brawl, brawle, brall, braul, or brantle —or brainle—is a 16th-century French dance style which moves mainly from side to side, and is performed by couples in either a line or a circle.The word is derived from the French verb branler , possibly related to brander...
. It was danced as part of City Ballet's 1982 Stravinsky Centennial Celebration.
Instrumentation
Agon is scored for a large orchestra consisting of piccoloPiccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, 3 flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, English horn, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, 4 horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, 4 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s (2 tenor, 1 bass), harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, tom-tom
Tom-tom drum
A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
, castanet
Castanet
Castanets are a percussion instrument , used in Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Sephardic Music, and Portuguese music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or...
s, and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.
Original
- Todd BolenderTodd BolenderTodd Bolender was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form...
- Barbara Milberg
- Barbara Walczak
- Roy Tobias
- Jonathan WattsJonathan WattsJonathan Watts is an award-winning journalist and the author of . He served as president of the from 2008-2009 and as vice president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan from 2001-2003...
- Melissa HaydenMelissa Hayden (dancer)Melissa Hayden was a Canadian ballerina at the New York City Ballet.-Early life:...
- Diana AdamsDiana AdamsDiana Adams was an American dancer, leading dancer for the New York City Ballet from 1950 to 1963 and a favorite of George Balanchine, later became a teacher and a dean at the School of American Ballet. Adams was born in Staunton, Virginia and died in San Andreas, California....
- Arthur MitchellArthur Mitchell (dancer)Arthur Mitchell is an African-American dancer and choreographer who created a training school and the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem...
2008 Summer tour to Copenhagen
- t.b.a.
first cast
- Wendy WhelanWendy WhelanWendy Whelan is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.-Early life:A native of Louisville, Kentucky , she began her dance training with local teacher Virginia Wooton at the age of three...
- Rebecca Krohn
- Ashley Laracey
- Teresa Reichlen
- Sébastien Marcovici
- Sean Suozzi
- Amar RamasarAmar RamasarAmar Ramasar is a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet. In 2010, Dance Magazine reported that Ramasar was one of the few Asian American professional ballet dancers...
- Adrian Danchig-Waring
second cast
- Maria KowroskiMaria KowroskiMaria Kowroski is a principal ballerina at the New York City Ballet.Ms. Kowroski's training in ballet began at the School ofthe Grand Rapids Ballet and subsequently the School of American Ballet in 1992; became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1994 and joined the corps de ballet in 1995....
- Rebecca Krohn
- Ashley Laracey
- Teresa Reichlen
- Sébastien Marcovici
- Sean Suozzi
- Amar RamasarAmar RamasarAmar Ramasar is a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet. In 2010, Dance Magazine reported that Ramasar was one of the few Asian American professional ballet dancers...
- Adrian Danchig-Waring
Further reading
- Joseph, Charles M., Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention
- White, Eric Walter, Stravinsky: the composer and his works
Articles
- NY Times by Alastair MacaulayAlastair MacaulayAlastair Macaulay is a dance critic for the New York Times. He was previously chief dance critic at The Times Literary Supplement and chief theater critic of the Financial Times, both of London...
, November 25, 2007