Ballets Russes at a time when he was virtually unknown to compose the music for "The Firebird", after the composer Anatoly Lyadov proved unreliable, and this was instrumental in launching Stravinsky's career in Europe and the United States of America. Stravinsky's early ballet scores were the subject of much discussion. "The Firebird" (1910) was seen as an astonishingly accomplished work for such a young artist (Debussy is said to have remarked drily: "Well, you've got to start somewhere!"). Many contemporary audiences found "Petrushka" (1911) to be almost unbearably dissonant and confused. "The Rite of Spring" (1913) nearly caused an audience riot. It
The Rite of Spring of musical language that they could never again be put together as before". The academic and critic Jan Smaczny, echoing Bernstein, calls it one of the 20th century's most influential compositions, providing "endless stimulation for performers and listeners". According to Kelly the 1913 premiere might be considered "the most important single moment in the history of 20th century music", and its repercussions continue to reverberate in the 21st century. Ross has described "The Rite" as a prophetic work, presaging the "second avant-garde" era in classical composition—music of the body rather than of the mind, in which "[m]elodies would follow the