Members of Pittsburgh’s Attack Theatre danced to “The Rite of Spring” at the Pittsburgh Symphony’s “Disrupt” concert. Photo by Julie Goetz.
“This weekend, the Pittsburgh Symphony performs [Stravinsky’s] ‘Rite of Spring’ thrice, twice for regular subscription season concert-goers on Friday and Sunday and in a special format on Saturday called ‘Disrupt,’ which features shorter programs with a host who speaks during breaks in the music, projected images and text intended to enhance and demystify the experience, themed cocktails, lobby activities and more,” writes Jeremy Reynolds in Friday’s (5/20) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “At Saturday’s performance, the orchestra along with conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and host Jacob Joyce (one of the symphony’s associate conductors) crafted an intense, exciting experience. The 75-minute program opened with a piece by French composer Lili Boulanger that captured the impressionistic whimsy of early 20th century Paris with wispy flute lines and smooth, willowy phrases, delicately delivered. Next, the orchestra was sinuous and powerful in the ‘Rite’ …A trio of dancers from Attack Theatre appeared in the second half of the work, hulking and twirling onto the stage for a physical demonstration of the music’s primitivity…. The [Disrupt] series will continue next year … It’s not ‘dumbed down,’ merely repackaged and augmented to be more interactive and less formal. It’s an excellent addition to the orchestra’s offerings.”
