Whatever enlargement of
the field of the string quartet the three little pieces which the
Flonzaleys played here in 1915 created, there is no doubt that it was
nothing at all to compare with the innovation in orchestral music
created by the great ballet. And, according to rumor, the newest of
Strawinsky's work, the music-hall ballet for eight clowns, and the work
for the orchestra, ballet and chorus entitled "Les Noces villageoises,"
are by no means as bold in style as "Le Sacre," and resemble "Petruchka"
more than the later ballet. But, whatever Strawinsky's future
accomplishment, there can be no doubt that with this one work, if not
also with "Petruchka," he has secured a place among the true musicians.
It is doubtful whether any living composer has opened new musical land
more widely than he. For he has not only minted music anew. He has
reached a point ahead of us that the world would have reached without
him. That alone shows him the genius. He has brought into music
something for which we had long been waiting, and which we knew must one
day arrive. To us, at this moment, "Le Sacre du printemps" appears one
of those compositions that mark off the musical miles.
Mahler
Almost simultaneously with the rise of Russian music and the new birth
of French music, that of Germany has deteriorated.
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