Thread: Top Three 20th Century Ballets, sans Stravinsky and Prokofiev

The question is "Your" top three, so it allows for personal perference.

Personally, I like Bartok's Mandarin for its music and that it portrays the modern city not as the pinnacle of civilization but as a degenerated jungle.

Erik Satie's Relache is notable because it included the first frame-by-frame movie music. There had been music played with movies before, but this is specific to what's on the screen. It all started there.

Debussy's Jeux may not be the best ballet as far as staging, but it is some of his finest music.

But your list is 'confused,' i.e. are we discussing the scores only as from the 20th century? because you've listed also:
Square Dance - Antonio Vivaldi (1957) & A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Felix Mendelssohn (1962)
Both then as ballets choreographed in the 20th century but using non-20th century music?!? Wassup?

From your list I would have voted the first three (in no particular order):

Daphnis et Chloé - Maurice Ravel
Jeux - Claude Debussy(1913)
The Miraculous Mandarin - Béla Bartók (1926)

... and I would have happily voted for Satie if you had instead listed Parade, and also added Copland's masterpiece, Appalachian Spring, original chamber version for 13 instruments. (Any of the above, I consider only the full-length pieces, and think the suites near to not worthwhile.)

Prokofiev's Chout is quite fun.

Stravinsky ~ Apollo / Orpheus.

I think it at least a misdemeanor that Milhaud's La création du monde is not anywhere a choice :-)

P.s. what is with the continued muddling, i.e. "Jewels" is a Balanchine ballet in three parts using music of three different composers, one composer for each segment:
1.) Fauré
2.) Stravinsky
3.) Tschaikovsky

My incredibly limited and uninformed listening experience aside (not having heard everything on the list), I voted for Debussy Jeux, Ravel and Bartok. Because I like 'em.

I voted for Ravel, Satie and de Falla. If I had to nom one not on the list AND exclude both Stravinsky and Prokofiev I'd probably choose Constant Lambert's Prize-fight or possibly Hindemith's The Four Temperaments (nigh-on a piano concerto which was used by Balanchine for the stage some years later).

The ballets in the 20th century list are those that premiered in the 20th century, regardless of when the music was composed. I was not trying to start another romantic vs. modern music fight on TC(we’ve had enough of those). I listed the composer instead of the choreographer because the choreography for virtually every ballet (that has stood the test of time) has changed from one generation to the next, whereas the music has stayed the same, for the most part. I didn’t want to get into arguments about who’s better Balanchine or Petipa, which is a whole other black hole.

And ok Square Dance is only 25 minutes, but the Rite of Spring is only 35. I don’t think anyone would protest if that were on the list.

Very interesting results so far. I fully expected Daphnis et Chloé to be at the top of the list, but some of the others there are surprising. Thanks for playing.