Cocktail Party Fact: Everyone knows that the premiere in Paris of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring on May 29, 1913, provoked a full-scale riot in the audience, complete with fist fights. But how many people know that little Maurice Ravel stood there in the midst of the chaos, shouting “Genius! Genius!” at the stage?

Commitment Factor: About 35 minutes.

Vital Statistics: Modern Period.

What to Listen For: It’s easy to see why the Parisians were so shocked. The jagged rhythms and the in-your-face dissonance are potent stuff. Listen to the way Stravinsky uses certain rhythmic patterns almost as if they were themes. Note the placement of the accented notes in the pounding rhythms of Part One, for example, and see how they form repeating patterns that seem to move of their own accord through various themes, harmonies and instrument groups. At the end of Part One, Stravinsky sets two different tempi against each other. Can you tell how he does it? And please: try not to think of dinosaurs while you’re listening to Le sacre.