Better Than The Movie

Yes, the Stanley Kubrick Film is a classic. Kirk Douglas is a magnificent fit for the role. The plot is thrilling. It’s up there with the top American films of the twentieth century.

But the music?

It can’t beat Aram Khachaturian’s. The composer didn’t have Douglas’ sex appeal, but he sure had brains.

The Armenian composer’s score for his ballet, also called Spartacus, is zesty, catchy, and clever. Not one moment is uninteresting, even for those who feel they don’t want to sit through a whole ballet.

Here’s the second ballet suite. One of the most exciting and quintessentially Khachaturian moments is the Dance of the Pirates, at about 19:15.

Paper Is Important, but There’s More To It Than That!

As the story goes, the commission for the Firebird didn’t originally go to Igor Stravinsky, who ended up composing a magnificent, world-renowned score. Anatol Liadov was supposed to do it first. However, the brilliant Russian mind was also a great procrastinator. When asked of his progress, he remarked, “I’ve bought the paper.”

That job didn’t last long.

A good, not particularly well-known composition of his is the Ballade. In a way, it’s probably good he didn’t end up doing the Firebird, because I couldn’t see anyone dancing well to the fast 5/4 rhythm central to the piece.