Igor Strawinsky Books

One of the greatest of contemporary composers has here set down in delightfully personal fashion his general ideas about music and some accounts of his own experience as a composer. Every concert-goer and lover of music will take keen pleasure in his notes about the essential features of music, the process of musical composition, inspiration, musical types, and musical execution. Throughout the volume are to he found trenchant comments on such subjects as Wagnerism, the operas of Verdi, musical taste, musical snobbery, the influence of political ideas on Russian music under the Soviets, musical improvisation as opposed to musical construction, the nature of melody, and the function of the critic of music. Musical people of every sort will welcome this first presentation in English of an unusually interesting book.

The narrative follows the tragic and ironic journey of a wealthy heir, who descends into debt, madness, and ultimately death, inspired by a 1947 exhibition of William Hogarth's prints. The libretto by W. H. Auden and C. Kallman weaves together elements from classical pastoral, the Faust legend, fairy tales, circus, and biblical stories. Igor Stravinsky's music brilliantly integrates influences from the operatic canon, creating a unique work that transcends parody or imitation. This opera remains a significant piece of the 20th-century repertoire.

Von Igor Strawinskys «Trois pièces pour quatuor à cordes» erschien im Druck bisher nur die zweite Fassung von 1918 und eine aus den Jahren 1928/29 stammende Bearbeitung im Rahmen der «Quatre études für Orchester». Die auf das Jahr 1914 zurückgehende erste Fassung der Quartettstücke hingegen blieb ebenso unveröffentlicht wie eine im selben Jahr entstandene «Réduction pour piano à quatre mains». Beide werden hier erstmals zusammen mit sämtlichen bekannten Skizzen zu diesem Werk zugänglich gemacht und in sieben Essays kommentiert.