Stravinsky Inside Out
by Professor Charles M. Joseph
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Book Summary Information
Author: Professor Charles M. JosephEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-01
ISBN: 0300075375
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of Stravinsky Inside Out
Book Review: A CONTROVERSIAL BUT REVEALING PORTRAIT OF PERHAPS THE GREATEST 20TH CENTURY COMPOSER
Summary: 5 Stars
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was perhaps the greatest composer of the 20th century. This is not a hagiographic portrait such as those by Robert Craft (e.g., Stravinsky in pictures and documents / by Vera Stravinsky and Robert Craft). Charles Joseph notes that "Yet in addition to Stravinsky's many humane qualities, his perspicacious manner, his acerbic wit, his bottomless thirst for learning, he was quite capable of vindictiveness, duplicity, and contemptible behavior, even in his treatment of friends."
Joseph's book contains many interesting insights and details; e.g., Stravinsky composed at the piano, until the last years of his life; he sent nude photos of himself to friends while he was working on his masterpiece, "The Rite of Spring"; he was actually arrested in 1940 for illegally arranging the Star Spangled Banner; in 1963 he nearly consented to be interviewed for Playboy magazine; he disliked Leonard Bernstein, etc. Stravinsky was also very interested in American jazz. "Ever since his first trip to America in the mid-1920s, Stravinsky eagerly sought every opportunity to her jazz performed live. He was captivated by its freedom, its expressive qualities."
Stravinsky's relations with his own family are also chronicled---often not to his credit. "One must realize that the composer's children were raised in a rigidly patriarchal family ... in which authority, submissiveness, and deference were inviolable." The composer carried on an extramarital relationship while his first wife "wasted away from tuberculosis."
Although Stravinsky had belittled Schonberg's twelve-tone method, after Schonberg's death, "Stravinsky rescinded his earlier denunciations of Schoenberg, embracing the previously maligned tenets of Viennese serialism.... He now made a commitment to a compositional style that would serve him for the rest of his life."
Finances were often a problem. Stravinsky wrote, "How does a composer of serious music survive economically in our time? The same as any other time---very badly." Joseph notes, "Even with his reputation secure, the composer constantly had to work, often unsuccessfully, at selling himself."
This is perhaps not the most exhaustively detailed biography of Stravinsky out there, but it is very helpful as a supplement to other works.
Summary of Stravinsky Inside Out
Popularly known during his lifetime as the world's greatest living composer, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) not only wrote some of the twentieth century's most influential music, he also assumed the role of cultural icon. This book reveals Stravinsky's two sides - the public persona, preoccupied with his own image and place in history, and the private composer, whose views and beliefs were often purposely suppressed. Charles M. Joseph draws a richer and more human portrait of Stravinsky than anyone has done before, using an array of unpublished materials and unreleased film trims from the composer's huge archive at the Paul Sacher Institute in Switzerland. Focusing on Stravinsky's place in the culture of the twentieth century, Joseph situates the composer among the giants of his age. He discusses Stravinsky's first American commission, his complicated relationship with his son, his professional relationships with celebrities ranging from T. S. Eliot to Orson Welles, his flirtations with Hollywood and television, and his love-hate attitude toward the critics and the media. In a close look at Stravinsky's efforts to mould a public image, Joseph explores the complex dance between the composer and his artistic collaborator, Robert Craft, who orchestrated controversial efforts to protect Stravinsky and edit materials about him, both during the composer's lifetime and after his death.Music Books
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