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Igor Stravinsky

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66K views 272 replies 113 participants last post by  Neo Romanza  
#1 · (Edited)
I don't know how this guy is missing a forum of his own...

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For me (and I suspect many others), the Leopold Stowkowski arrangement of The Rite of Spring for Walt Disney's Fantasia (accompanied by animated dinosaurs- What more could a kid want?!?) marked my introduction to Modern era classical music.

For some time, Stravinsky was my favorite composer, and I still hold him in particularly high regard. I daresay that it was Rite of Spring that shook the very foundations of the musical world and pretty much brought about an end to the Romantic era. Certainly, Romantic music continued to be produced, but the political climate of the world and Europe in particular called out for a musical language that was capable of expressing raw turmoil. In emphasizing unusual rhythms (and furthering the unusual harmonies being explored by folk-inspired nationalist composers), Stravinky delivered that idiom, and the musical world hasn't been the same since. Nor did he stop at primitivism- he was a leader, not a follower, at the forefront of later trends in neoclassicism and serialism.

To this day, and probably for the rest of my life, he will remain on my list of the top composers of all time, in the company of Beethoven, Wagner, and Mozart.
 
#2 ·
Stravinsky and Bach are my two favorite composers of all time. I like Stravinsky for the variety of his music- everything from the primitiveness of the Rite to the angelic harmonies of the Symphony of Psalms to the jazz of his ragtime pieces to the neoclassicism of Pulcinella. As for your assertion that he brought an end to the Romantic period, I would give that honor to Debussy or Schoenberg, but I think Stravinsky was a greater composer than either one.

It's nice to see him get a place in the forums!
 
#4 ·
I am an admirer of Stravinsky, and I count him among my favorite composers. I am more partial to his earlier works. As he got older, his music started to become more "modernist," and this is where he begins to lose me.

Notwithstanding, The Firebird, Petrushka...and indeed the Rite...are exemplary, exciting works that command my attention often.

Though it could easily be dismissed as nothing more than inspired juvenilia, his first symphony that he completed while under the guidance of Rimsky-Korsakov is a lot of fun and features some great orchestration...and even melodies...what a thing you don't often hear with this composer!
 
#5 ·
Stravinsky tried his hand at so much which shows great versatility and genius. He's a great composer in that respect, but also a great modernist. The Rite was ahead of its time but now it's a much loved piece scoring on the Classic FM's Hall of Fame. I only hope this will be the start of appreciation for the other revolutionaries like Schoenberg.
 
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#7 ·
phoenixshade said:
I don't know how this guy is missing a forum of his own...

For me (and I suspect many others), the Leopold Stowkowski arrangement of The Rite of Spring for Walt Disney's Fantasia (accompanied by animated dinosaurs- What more could a kid want?!?) marked my introduction to Modern era classical music.
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What do you mean "arrangment"? Isn't Stokowski conducting the original score of the Rite?
 
#10 ·
I may be wrong about my earlier comment that the original orchestration was used in Fantasia...I just read somewhere that Stoki monkied with the orchestration (mostly by reducing the forces) so the Philadelphia Orchestra would have an easier time performing it. I suspect that this is very likely, because when you listen to the music in the film, it does sound "thinner" than you'd expect. Then again, that could also be due to the primitive stereophonic recording system, too.
 
#39 ·
The order of the sections is very different, with the "Adoration of the Earth" played last, with horn glissandi added. :(

The opening bassoon part appears at the end again (with other woodwinds joining on the last not forming a major triad!). :eek:
 
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#12 ·
Stravinsky & Debussy

Stravinsky was just a great a composer as Debussy. But it's somewhat ridiculous to compare composers anyway. I mean, they all had something or other to offer & to say. Anyway, I like both of them equally for different reasons.

Also interesting to note how Stravinsky met Debussy during his early years in Paris. & Debussy ballet Jeux was premiered around the same time as the Rite. They were both trying to change the course of music in different ways.
 
#16 ·
I'm going to see Gil Shaham playing the Violin Concerto tonight with the local university's symphony orchestra. It'll be interesting; I'm not too familiar with this work, though I remember it being quite rough. Gil is generally not the roughest of violinists. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm worried about the Elgar on the program: the Enigma Variations...
 
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#18 ·
L'Oiseau Du Feu

Stravinsky's best ballet. This is composition at dramatic best. The unfolding of motifs and themes in this ballet - The Firebird- is genius.

I have never had dried eyes when I finished listening to this masterpiece.

Two recordings that have touched my heart are the Lorin Maazel/Orchestre de Paris and Kent Nagano/London Symphony.
 
#20 ·
tahnak said:
Stravinsky's best ballet. This is composition at dramatic best. The unfolding of motifs and themes in this ballet - The Firebird- is genius.
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Yes, "The Firebird" is a great piece of work. Definitely a piece I return to from time to time.

I'm now starting to understand Stravinsky's true genius the more I listen to him. "Symphony of Psalms" is such a haunting piece.

I have a 22 disc Stravinsky box set coming on Sony that I look forward to hearing.
 
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#22 ·
I really like Oedipus Rex. It's brimming with propulsive rhythm and energy, a bit like Orff's Carmina Burana (which Stravinsky hated, by the way). Anyway, there is a tension in Oedipus between the static nature of the drama, as told by the narrator, and the sincerity of the emotions expressed (eg. when Oedipus realises that he has been blind to the truth all along). I have a classic recording with Ralph Richardson narrating and Colin Davis conducting. It quite good.
 
#24 ·
I have to disagree with you because I think he produced some very good works in his neoclassical period. Just listen to the Violin Concerto, Apollon Musagete or Oedipus Rex, for example. These still stand upon their own as quite approachable but by no means lacking in complexity, no matter what you compare them with.

I cannot really comment on his serial period as I haven't heard any of those works. They don't seem to hold as strong position in the repertoire as his works from earlier periods. It would be really interesting if I could get my hands on some of them, or if they came up on the radio.

But I think that, like Picasso, Stravinsky had quite a number of periods, and I suppose it's up to the individual listener to make up their mind as to what one appeals to them, or not...
 
#36 ·
In contrast to everyone else here, I do like Stravinsky, but not for the same reason as you all.

His Symphony in E flat, op. 1 is lovely! 0% classic Stravinsky, but still great stuff! The same goes for his Scherzo Fantastique, op. 3. His early works are more in the Russian Romantic tradition, which I appreciate more.
 
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