Fearful Symmetries

George Balanchine's Ballet Symphony in C is one of his masterpieces, which is particularly impressive for its technical precision, artistic virtuosity and breathtaking complexity. Balanchine was made aware of Georges Bizet's composition by his long-time collaborator Igor Stravinsky and choreographed the work as Le Palais de Cristal (The Crystal Palace) in 1947 in just two weeks for the Paris Opera Ballet, where he worked as ballet master. When he resumed the work the following year for the New York City Ballet on October 11, 1948, he simplified stage sets and costumes and changed the title to Symphony in C, which was derived from the score. It was composed as early as 1855, when Bizet was only 17 years old and still a student at the Paris Conservatory, but was not performed until 1935, long after the composer's death. In Symphony in C, Balanchine presents the music in four movements, each of which includes, such as her own ballet, a different pair of soloists and the corps de ballet. Symphony in C embodies the heritage of a classical dance tradition, while the dancers give the performance a particular dynamism and vitality through their versatility and energy.

Christian Spuck's dance piece Fearful Symmetries is dedicated to the composition of the same name by John Adams and makes its rhythmic intensity and energy visually tangible. The American composer John Adams is one of the most important representatives of contemporary classical music. He borrowed the title of his work from the poem The Tyger, which the Englishman William Blake had published in 1794. However, it was not the content of this text that appealed to him, but the key phrase “fearful symmetry.” This “terrifying symmetry” is reflected in John Adam's repeated, melodic and harmonic structures, which he deliberately exaggerates to amplify their effect. John Adams became known for his operas, which are often based on recent events — including his first opera Nixon in China (1987) about the American president's visit to Mao Tse-tung in 1972 or Doctor Atomic (2005) about the physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb.” According to him, the orchestral piece Fearful Symmetries, which is characterized by an energetic sound world, is closely linked to Adams's first opera.

Recommended from 6 years of age