For Balanchine cognoscenti: a question

[Juliet]

For the spring season, I see there are two Bejart pieces and four by Balanchine being performed............

I will be interested to see the Mozart violin concerto, and am curious about the music for the Divertimento Brilliante....

Has anyone on the board seen either piece, have any information on the music, or any other info/opinions on these?

As part of the Balanchine Preservation Initiative, I am happy that they are being performed..........

[Dale]

I've seen both. Divertimento Brilliante was part of Glinkiana. I saw the pas de deux on a video with McBride and Villella. It's bright and bouncy, but with the usual Balanchine surprises, musicality, and originality. I saw the Mozart Violin Concerto when Tulsa Ballet reconstructed it and brought it to New York in the late 80s. Balanchine Balanchine created in Argentina in 1942 as a commission. The sets were after the originals by Pavel Tchelitchew. The ballet was classical but used props. The hardest choreography was for the princiapls, which reflect maybe the level of the corps in Argentina.

I think this is great that these are being performed again.

[Farrell Fan]

Wonderful news! Cheers for Suzanne and the Kennedy Center.

[Dale]

A press release regarding the initiative:

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet aannounces formal creation of the

Balanchine Preservation Initiative

and projects for 2007 include

Ragtime (II)

Pithoprakta

Divertimento Brillante

Adagio from Concierto de Mozart

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Kennedy Center’s own ballet company, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, is dedicated to preserving and reconstructing the work of legendary choreographer George Balanchine under the artistic direction of Suzanne Farrell. This commitment began in 2001 with the reconstruction of Variations for Orchestra and continued through 2005 with the production of Balanchine’s Don Quixote and the pas de deux from Clarinade. The creation of the Balanchine Preservation Initiative formally establishes and enables the Farrell Ballet to continue this commitment with the aim of introducing the “unseen” or “rarely seen” Balanchine legacy to audiences around the world.

As part of the Balanchine Preservation Initiative, the company’s projects for 2007 include:

• RAGTIME (II)

Music: Igor Stravinsky “Ragtime for Eleven Instruments” (1918)

Premiere: Jul 15, 1966 – New York Philharmonic Hall (Stravinsky Festival)

Original Cast: Suzanne Farrell, Arthur Mitchell

• PITHOPRAKTA – meaning “action by probabilities”

Music: Iannis Xenakis (1955)

Premiere: Jan 18, 1968 – New York City Ballet

Original Cast: Suzanne Farrell, Arthur Mitchell, 7 women, 5 men

• DIVERTIMENTO BRILLANTE

Music: Mikhail Glinka

Premiere: Nov 23, 1967 – New York City Ballet

Cast: Patricia McBride, Edward Villella

• ADAGIO from CONCIERTO DE MOZART

Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart “Violin Concerto in A major, K 219” (1775)

Premiere: Aug 7, 1942 – Ballet of the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cast: Maria Ruanova, Yurek Shabelevsky, Jorge Tomin, 15 women, 7 men

The company will rehearse and perform these works at the following dates and locations:

• REHEARSAL—Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL: Mon., Jan. 29 – Sat., Feb.10

• PERFORMANCE—Thomasville, GA: Fri., Feb. 9 at 7:30pm (includes Divertimento Brilliante)

• REHEARSAL—American Dance Institute, Rockville, MD: Mon., Feb. 12 – Sat., Feb. 24

• PERFORMANCE—The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage: Fri., Feb. 23 at 6:00pm

• PERFORMANCES—Kennedy Center: June 6-10, 2007 (includes Divertimento Brilliante and pas de deux from Concierto di Mozart)

The 2007 Balanchine Preservation Initiative is made possible by the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, Reno, Nevada.

The American Dance Institute in Rockville, Maryland, is generously providing rehearsal space for the Balanchine Preservation Initiative.

For more information about The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, visit www.kennedy-center.org/programs/ballet/farrell

Project works subject to change without notice.

[Leigh Witchel]

Wasn't the full Concierto de Mozart revived about 20 years ago by Roman Jasinski and Moscelyne Larkin at Tulsa Ballet as "Mozart Violin Concerto?"

[Ray]

And I never knew that Pithoprakta was part of a longer work, Metastaseis and Pithoprakta. In my ignorance, I guess I imagined the words indicated names, like Tristan and Isolde or Abelard and Heloise, so I thought it was one work (and took nerdy pride at learning to pronounce it, along with Davidsbundlertanze).

How great that SFB is reviving it.

[Dale]

Wasn't the full Concierto de Mozart revived about 20 years ago by Roman Jasinski and Moscelyne Larkin at Tulsa Ballet as "Mozart Violin Concerto?"

Yes, but it hasn't been performed in a very long time. It was revived at about the same time (1988 or so) as the Joffrey's Cotillon and I always felt was rather silly to put so much effort in the reconstructions only to have them go another 20 years without performances.

On the same note, Miami City Ballet has performed the Divert. Brillante but not in a bit, as well. I applaud the Farrell Ballet in these efforts.

[Leigh Witchel]

Definitely - there's no point in reviving or reconstructing a work if it isn't performed so good for them. I'm just not sure why it's a rescue effort rather than a repertory one, but that probably sounds less sexy.

[EDITED TO ADD] - Looks like I'm confusing the Balanchine Rescue Project with what's here - a Preservation Initiative, which is a very accurate description. My mistake!

[carbro]

I think it's thrilling. Sorry that New York is not on the tour schedule.

I infer from the press release (thank you, Dale!) that these preservation projects are not being done in conjunction with the Balanchine Foundation. If that's true, it's a shame. It would be great for posterity (and the present) to have a single, authoritative repository.