“The “Rite” left everyone reeling … using a massively large ensemble, Dudamel created the sensation of mob rule. The orchestra could barely be contained.
“Dudamel didn’t ask for beauty or sensuality (the way the “Rite” is often sold these days). The excitement came not from obsessive rhythmic control but sheer vehemence, an exhibition of uncontrollable mass psychology.
“…During the applause at the end, several players in an orchestra that eats Stravinsky for breakfast looked at one another and laughed, as if out of astonishment for the Stravinsky shock they had just managed to produce.”