Customer Reviews

Human nature and its remaking

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About half of this is Stravinsky commenting on trends in art and the art business (and art includes music as well), commentary on some of his works (very interesting), some letters (one by his wife, Vera, to a cousin in Moscow has some most interesting observations about the composer), some transcripts of interview, some talk about T.S. Eliot and his death, and comments about some then current conductors.

The personal comments Stravinsky makes about certain composers and conductors can cause me to scratch my head, but it may be more of a personal reaction by Stravinsky because of the way they treated him and his music. However, it may be that there are things he knows that I have missed. I just don't know.

The second half of the book are selections from Craft's diaries from 1949-66. We get Craft's keen observations of different places around the world, his private meetings with Schoenberg, and his observations during world travels with Stravinsky.

This is very interesting material and something everyone interested in Stravinsky and his music will want to read and think about.

Perhaps due to the several films of late that allude to the life of Igor Stravinsky (17 June 1882 - 6 April 1971) returning to this fine old volume first published in 1966 is not unlike dialing up the master and asking his opinion. The title of the book -THEMES AND EPISODES - describes the content well. Though born in Russia Stravinsky spent a number of years in France and Switzerland, and when WW II broke out in 1939-40 he moved to the United States where he lived a bicoastal life between the East Coast and Hollywood. The contents of this book are extracted from letters, including a lengthy letter from Stravinsky's wife Vera, from diaries and from remembered conversations with his long time supporter and right hand man, Robert Craft.

Stravinksy writes with the same brilliance that makes his compositions so electrifying. He is able to discuss fellow composers with wit (and not a little sarcasm) and in general gives the reader the tenor of the times in classical music as seen through the eyes of one of the most important practitioners of his century. Here are program notes written by Stravinsky himself, opinions by Vera for 'The Rakes Progress' premiere in Venice in 1951, interviews with Stravinsky about certain works in performance, and well carved statements about his own individual compositions.

In Part II we are treated to the diaries of Robert Craft whose writings from 1949 - 1966 are an invaluable source of the mannerisms and the health and the frustrations and the temperament of the great Stravinsky. Almost any subject concerning the composer/conductor can be found here in chronological order. For the student of classical music this volume is a treasure-trove of information (and gossip!), and for those of us who simply admire the magnificent scores he created, this book is a window into his life and thoughts. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 10