The Firebird the Russian composer Anatoly Lyadov (1855–1914) to write the music. There is no evidence, however, despite the much-repeated story that Lyadov was slow to start composing the work, that he ever accepted the commission to begin with. There is evidence to suggest that Nikolai Tcherepnin had previously started composing music for the ballet—music which became "The Enchanted Kingdom"—but that Tcherepnin, for reasons unexplained, withdrew from the project after completing only one scene. Diaghilev eventually transferred the commission to the 28-year-old Stravinsky. The ballet was premiered by the Ballets Russes at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 25 June 1910, conducted
The Rite of Spring discography ballet and as a concert piece. The discography is not exhaustive; new recordings frequently appear, as do reissues of older recordings. In the tables, the year given is not necessarily an accurate guide to the time of the actual performance, since sometimes recordings are held for many years before release. On the 22 March 2008 broadcast of BBC 3's CD Review - Building a Library, music critic Rob Cowan surveyed recordings of "The Rite of Spring" and recommended the 2004 recording by the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Péter Eötvös (conductor), as the best available choice. The Rite of Spring discography This