Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention [Hardcover]

Professor Charles M. Joseph (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300087128 | ISBN-13: 978-0300087123 | Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Igor Stravinsky and George Balanchine, among the most influential artists of the 20th century, together created the music and movement for many ballet masterpieces. This is a study of one of the greatest artistic collaborations in history. Drawing on extensive research, Charles Joseph discusses the Stravinsky-Balanchine ballets against a rich contextual backdrop. He explores the background and psychology of the two men, the dynamics of their interactions, their personal and professional similarities and differences, and the political and historical circumstances that conditioned their work. He describes the dancers, designers and sponsors with whom they worked. He explains the two men's approach to the creative process and the genesis of each of the collaborative ballets, demolishing much received wisdom on the subject. He also analyzes selected sections of music and dance, providing examples of Stravinsky's working sketches and other illustrative materials.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The ballets they forged together stand as one of the most extraordinary collaborative triumphs of the twentieth century," writes Joseph (Stravinsky Inside Out), a professor of music at Skidmore College, of composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine. Joseph takes a close look at the rapport of the two artists, creators of Apollo, Agon, Stravinsky Violin Concerto and other ballets in the early part of the century. According to Joseph, "no one balanced Stravinsky better than Balanchine," whom Stravinsky called "the perfect collaborator." While he explores the Stravinsky-Balanchine partnership from a musician's perspective (perhaps in the process slighting the contributions of choreographers and dancers), Joseph's detailed analyses of the music's form and structure in relationship to the dance is excellent. It is no mean feat that he is able to articulate precisely what it is about Balanchine's choreography that allows us, in Balanchine's words, to "see the music and hear the dance." Joseph's study may have benefited from a more balanced treatment of the ballets; admirers of Firebird or "Rubies" from Jewels will be sorely disappointed, and some may question the amount of space given to the little-known work The Flood. Overall, though, the book is a thoughtfully crafted tribute to the extraordinary working relationship of two geniuses of the modern era. A must for dance and music students, scholars and aficionados.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Joseph (music, Skidmore Coll.; Stravinsky Inside Out) presents a fascinating, multidisciplinary study of the Stravinsky/Balanchine collaborations, among the most celebrated in the world of ballet. The book proceeds chronologically, beginning with Le Chant du Rossignol, choreographed by Balanchine in 1925 for Diaghilev's famed Ballets Russes, and culminating with the nearly two dozen masterly New York City Ballet productions of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Both Stravinsky and Balanchine had Apollonian instincts; they favored order, structure, clarity, and restraint. Moreover, both were well read in the classics, and both were intensely interested in each other's discipline (Balanchine was an accomplished pianist and conductor); thus, their friendship and creative partnership flourished in a felicitous meeting of minds and temperaments. An especially valuable section is Joseph's detailed examination of the relationship of music to dance in two of the most acclaimed collaborations Agon and the Violin Concerto. The writing throughout is nontechnical and very accessible to lay readers. Recommended for all collections. Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300087128
• ISBN-13: 978-0300087123
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I live with this book. It is a masterful work., November 25, 2009

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S. Sequeira "Rubicon" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention (Hardcover)

If you were (in a word) "stunned" by the work "Apollo" by George Balanchine, or works like "Agon", you will want to own and cherish this masterpiece of a book. This is ballet as literature. Mr. Balanchine elevated ballet to the level of literature.

The author dug deeply and with sincere devotion to the work that Mr. Balanchine and Mr. Stravinsky produced during their collaborations, and it is loaded with treasures that I cannot even go into here because there are too many.

You may at first be put-off by the price, but I must say that once you have the book open and in your hands and are skimming-through the knowledge accumulated by this generous scholar who has provided us all with materials we would never had access to otherwise you will see that each and every penny you spent on this tome will have been well spent.

The book can be read in a light manner once through, or you can carry it around with you and live with it (as I have done) having it by your bedside, while watching and studying the works on video & DVD, and/or while listening to Mr. Stravinsky's compositions.

When I was a dancer during the last part of Mr. Balanchine's working life I would have given blood to have had my hands on this book. I had to rely mostly on oral-tradition of transmission of knowledge within the dance and theatre community of artists to gain only a molecule of what is related in this book for you by the author.

And if you enjoyed this book you will also enjoy the DVD I have inserted as a product link here.

Felia Doubrovska Remembered - From Diaghilev's Ballets Russes to Balanchine's School of American Ballet

Works like these are few and far between and you should get them before they become limited in availability (it is an investment) because they will enhance the joy and quality of your life and expand your knowledge of the arts if you are an student of music or a dancer or simply a lover of the arts in general.

If you wish to delve deeper in this arena I must strongly and enthusiastically point you in the direction of both The George Balanchine Foundation & The George Balanchine Trust: the work they are doing is of the highest standards and they should know. You will find like-minded individuals performing scholarly endeavor there that are noble to say the least.

I cherish this book, the works described in it, and the artistic collaborations described in priceless detail here. I became a student of dramatic literature in the university for many years no doubt due to the impact and enlightenment that Balanchine's "Apollo" had in my life when I was a young dancer. Mr. Balanchine's vast genius, and the genius of Mr. Stravinsky, opened my eyes and mind - and I shrink at the concept of what the quality of my life would have been like without the works of these two men, their collaborations, and all of the other works of art that this vortex of creativity pulled into my life enriching it.

I thank the author of this book here. Please do not miss his work!

These attached works (below) should not be missed if you have not yet already seen and studied them:

Balanchine: A Biography: With a New Epilogue

Balanchine

Choreography By Balanchine / Tzigane, Andante from Divertimento No 15, The Four Temperaments, Selections from Jewels, Stravinsky Violin Concerto

And, currently, Ms. Farrell is carrying on the strict tradition and vision at The Suzanne Farrell Ballet:

Suzanne Farrell - Elusive Muse

Holding On to the Air: An Autobiography

(Ms. Farrell is an American National Treasure in my opinion, and anybody seriously studying the work of Mr. Balanchine and the work that Mr. Stravinsky did with him would by wise to listen to each and every thing she has to say regarding them in microsopy: after all, she was there!)

You will also enjoy Ms Bently's beautiful book:

Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal, with a new preface

And, lastly, a book that should not be missed by dancers and any lovers of Mr. Balanchine's works:

Dance Is a Contact Sport (A Da Capo paperback)

I hope you will enjoy these works and that they will enrich your life as much as they have enriched my own throughout the years, and that you will recommend this book and return to write your own review of it and your own observations here.