The New Grove Stravinsky (Grove Music Composer Biography Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195169069 ISBN 13: 9780195169065

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

Of Russian, French, and later American nationality, Stravinsky's musical styles are startlingly diverse, reflecting his life and era; from Tsarist Russia, to 1920s France and post-war USA. His early years in Russia saw him launch his international career, with Dyagilve's Ballets Russes in Paris and the premieres of The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.
Between 1920-1939 Stravinsky lived and worked in France, producing his great neo-classical compositions, reactivating the modes and manners of the eighteenth century. This stylistic inclination eventually gave way to a highly individual use of serial techniques in his last years, when he took up residence in the United States.
This biography of Igor Stravinsky is one in a new series of composer biographies, derived and adapted from the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. These newly written biographies bring the best of the book-length pieces in The New Grove to a wider audience.
Each title provides fresh new insights into the life and works of a major composer, derived from the most recent scholarship. In addition to a detailed and informative view of the subject's life and works, written by an expert in the field, each book includes comprehensive, tabular work-lists and a fully revised and updated bibliography.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Walsh is senior lecturer in music at Cardiff University. He has a particular interest in 20th century music and has written in Tempo, Musical Times, Music and Musicians--notably on British composers and Hungarian music. His writings include The Lieder of Schumann (1971), Bartok Chamber Music (1975) and Stravinsky: A Creative Spring (1999).

From Library Journal:

In the early 1980s, Grove issued a "Composer Biography" series, with material taken from the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Likewise, these slim volumes are spin-offs of the second edition (LJ 3/15/01); consequently, the same new scholarship, fresh perspectives, and updated bibliographies that mark the NGII mark these books the first releases in the new series. For the first time, Stravinsky gets a title of his own. To some extent, the updates have been edited to appeal to a lay audience. For example, in the NGII article on Haydn, there is a section titled "Style, Aesthetics, and Compositional Method," which in the biography is reworded "Style and Method." In the NGII's coverage of Stravinsky, the dictionary section is titled "Posthumous Reputation and Legacy," but here it appears as "Then and Since." However, the texts themselves have not been dumbed down. Each book contains a works list, a bibliography, an index, and 12 pages of black-and-white illustrations (not seen); at press time, the publisher could not confirm whether the illustrations will be the same ones used in the NGII. As with the earlier editions, the work lists include page numbers where pieces are discussed in the text. Excellent for students and scholars, these manageable biographies are recommended for libraries where the earlier editions circulated well. Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0195169069
• ISBN 13: 9780195169065
• Binding: Paperback
• Editor: Sadie Stanley, Tyrrell John