Stravinsky: Personality, Creation, Views – Personality, Creation, Views

Author: Michael Druskin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The author of Stravinsky: A Biography, Michael Druskin (1905–1991), was a renowned Soviet biographer, musicologist, educator, and Doctor of Arts. Throughout his life, he wrote numerous works on foreign music, Russian music, modern music, and Bach's musical compositions. After the first publication of Stravinsky: A Biography in 1974, it quickly gained attention in the Soviet music world. This book provides a detailed analysis of the three creative phases of the composer—Phase 1 (15 years): 1908–1923, generally known as the Russian period; Phase 2 (30 years): 1923–1953, known as the Neoclassical period; and Phase 3 (various years): 1953–1968, referred to as the late or serialist period—and presents the composer's long artistic career and artistic evolution in a clear and orderly manner, "montage-style," to readers. It vividly recreates the aesthetics and creative philosophy of this 20th-century musical giant, helping music professionals and enthusiasts to understand and appreciate his works accurately, authentically, and comprehensively. This book holds both aesthetic and musicological value. Igor Feodorovich Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a famous Russian composer and conductor. Born in what is now the city of Lomonosov, Russia, his father was once a bass opera singer at the Mariinsky Royal Theatre in St. Petersburg. Stravinsky was a prolific composer, having written nearly 100 works in his lifetime. During his studies under the renowned Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, he composed works such as the Piano Sonata in F-sharp Major, the Symphony in F-sharp Major, the Firebird Fantasy, and the Funeral March for a Soldier. In 1910, he collaborated with the Russian ballet director, cultural figure, and promoter Sergei Diaghilev to create the ballets The Firebird and Petru?ka. In 1913, he composed the ballet The Rite of Spring. After settling in France in 1920, he wrote the opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, followed by The Rake's Progress. When World War II broke out in 1939, he moved to the United States and became a professor at Harvard University. During this time, he continued to compose operas, ballets, symphonies, oratorios, concertos, and chamber music, while also writing film music, jazz, and circus music. In 1951, he composed the two-and-a-half-hour opera The Rake's Progress. In 1956, he created the ballet Agon. Throughout his life, Stravinsky performed and conducted his works in many countries. In 1962, he received a medal from the United States, and President Kennedy hosted a banquet in his honor. That same year, he was invited back to his homeland after a 50-year absence for a performance. Stravinsky's creative style was characterized by drawing from diverse influences, and his works covered a wide range of themes and genres, from ancient polytheism to Greek mythology, from 17th–18th-century European music to modern Russian music, from medieval French music to modern American music, from jazz to masses. The book provides detailed introductions on all these aspects. Although Stravinsky spent much of his life abroad, he never lost his patriotic spirit. His nostalgia and love for his homeland were fully reflected in many of his works. Whether it is the artistic value of Stravinsky's works or his relentless exploration, whether it is their academic worth or his contributions to consolidating the Russian musical school and the world of music, they are all worth learning from and drawing inspiration from by the broad readership of our country, especially music professionals and cultural enthusiasts.