The Rite of Spring of the evening Stravinsky had asserted that "Monteux, almost alone among conductors, never cheapened "Rite" or looked for his own glory in it, and he continued to play it all his life with the greatest fidelity". Commentators have often described "The Rite"s music in vivid terms; Paul Rosenfeld, in 1920, wrote of it "pound[ing] with the rhythm of engines, whirls and spirals like screws and fly-wheels, grinds and shrieks like laboring metal". In a more recent analysis, "The New York Times" critic Donal Henahan refers to "great crunching, snarling chords from the brass and thundering thumps from the timpani". The
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa The king demanded that he bring him the bird. The huntsman went to his horse, who told him to demand that measures of corn be spread over the fields. He did, and the firebird came to eat and was caught. He brought it to the king, who said that because he had done that, now he must bring him Princess Vasilisa to be his bride. The horse had him demand food and drink for the journey, and a tent with a golden top. With it, they set out to a lake where the princess was rowing. He set up the