Contemporary ingenuity framed by neoclassical elegance
Preceded by two beloved Balanchine Black & White ballets, Justin Peck’s Rotundasimilarly conveys a pared-down celebration of pure dance, with intimations of improvisation and playful experimentation that mirror the commissioned score from American composer Nico Muhly. Monumentum pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra, both set to scores from Balanchine favorite Igor Stravinsky, are leotard ballets that represent the choreographer in top neoclassical form. The sumptuous Chaconne, in itself a display of Balanchine’s virtuosity, begins with a lyrical adagio pas de deux before culminating in a spirited finale showcasing both principals and ensemble.
Known for its plush refinement, this streamlined leotard ballet arrests viewers with its formal beauty and simplicity.
The music for Monumentum pro Gesualdo was composed to honor the 400th birthday of Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, (1560-1613), the 16th century’s most chromatic—and having been suspected of murder, most scandalous—composer. The score was first performed on September 27, 1960, at the 23rd Venice Music Festival at La Fenice, with Stravinsky conducting. Of the score, Stravinsky said, “My Monumentum was intended to commemorate the 400th anniversary of one of the most personal and original musicians ever born to my art.” Balanchine created this ballet in November 1960, less than two months after the score premiered.
A signature leotard ballet, Movements for Piano and Orchestra's dissonance and electric currents sweep on a wave of exacting precision.
The score for this ballet, composed during 1958-59, uses the serial technique and is divided into five sections. As the title indicates it is for solo piano and orchestra, and Stravinsky told Balanchine that Movements for Piano and Orchestra might just as well have been called “Electric Currents.” Balanchine said of this intricate piece: “Nothing gave me greater pleasure afterwards than Stravinsky’s saying the performance ‘was like a tour of a building for which I had drawn the plans but never explored the result.” Although Monumentum Pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra were choreographed separately, Balanchine eventually paired them for performance, an arrangement that has been retained since 1966.
Justin Peck’s Rotunda, featuring a commissioned score from acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly, creates an overarching sense of community through punctuated mirroring and ensemble groupings, inspiring reflection, delight, and intrigue.
By turns elegiac and courtly, Chaconne begins with a dreamlike prologue and concludes with a grand series of classical dances.
A chaconne is a dance, built on a short phrase in the bass, that was often used by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries to end an opera in a festive mood. This choreography, first performed in the 1963 Hamburg State Opera production of Orfeo ed Euridice, was somewhat altered for presentation as the ballet Chaconne particularly in the sections for the principal dancers.
Balanchine's first Orfeo was made for the Metropolitan Opera in 1936. His novel approach — the singers remained in the pit while the action was danced on stage — was not well received, and the production had only two performances. In addition to the Hamburg production, he choreographed other versions of the opera for the Théâtre National de l'Opéra, Paris in 1973 and the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1975.
While having roots in earlier opera productions, Chaconne is pure dance. The opening pas de deux and following ensemble are lyrical and flowing. The second part has the spirit of a court entertainment, with formal divertissements, bravura roles for the principal dancers, and, of course, a concluding chaconne.
20 Lincoln Center Plaza