# The I'm Addicted To Stravinsky Thread



## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

THE I'M ADDICTED TO STRAVINSKY THREAD​







As if you guys didn't see this one coming, right? 

It is without question that Stravinsky was one of the most influential composers of the 20th Century. His works are highly original and bare his unmistakable mark.

If you love Stravinsky, then share your love for his music here. You like "The Rite of Spring," then share it here. You like "Symphony in C," then stop on by. You rave about "Symphony of Psalms" to all your friends, then rave right here.

Share your thoughts and feelings about this revolutionary composer's music.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I've only heard music from his earlier period like _The Rite of Spring, Oedipus Rex, Violin Concerto, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Octet, Firebird, Petrushka_.

I haven't heard the other symphonies or music from his later serialist period, which I would be very much interested in. Reputedly, the ballet _Agon_ is the best example of this period. Am I right?

I agree that he was a very influential composer. & quite complex, too. Like the painter Picasso in visual arts, Stravinsky was one of the great defining figures of C20th classical music. His influence was all-encompassing, even _Oedipus Rex _influenced Orff's _Carmina Burana_. How's that for an interesting connection?


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## andruini (Apr 14, 2009)

I just finished reading the book of his conversations with Robert Craft, and he's such an interesting man.. A true musician.. Even if he comes off a bit arrogant and condescending at times, it makes for a really interesting read..
That said, Stravinsky is my favorite composer, no doubt.. I've heard most of his pieces, and yeah, I do rave continuosly about the Symphony of Psalms to all my friends. 
He does have an unmistakeable musical language, and just the sheer complexity and inventiveness of his rythmic construction is truly astounding. I have the big Works of Igor Stravinsky set on the way, and I'm really excited to hear it.. After all, there's no better Stravinsky conductor than the man himself..


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Stravinsky is my second favorite composer. Everybody knows how well he combined traditional organizational structures with modern tonality, but I particularly like him for his brilliant use of orchestral color and his ability to go from rapid climaxes to dead silence without losing continuity.

The Rite of Spring may be epitome of Stravinsky, but my favorite work of his is the Symphony of Psalms. It's the transitions from near-cacophony to graceful, quiet, hymn-like music that fascinate me.

Some of his jazzier works are worth mentioning, too, even though they are fairly obscure. The Piano-Rag-Music is a great synthesis of syncopated African music and Stravinsky's trademark 7/8 rhythms and triplet patterns. And The Rake's Progress, while not in the top tier of 20th-century opera, is a remarkable work.

Andre, Agon is very good, but check out The Flood as well. The latter work has some very jarring percussion passages and hypnotic recitatives. You might want to listen to Agon and the earlier Apollo together, as the serial/neoclassical contrast is enlightening.

So, yea, I'm obsessed with Stravinsky, too. Greatest artist of the century? It's between him, Joyce, Louis Armstrong, and Picasso.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Thanks for your recommendations & info about those lesser-known works, Buddha. I'll have to get them at some stage, as well as the _Symphony of Psalms_, which everyone seems to be raving about...


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Andre said:


> Thanks for your recommendations & info about those lesser-known works, Buddha. I'll have to get them at some stage, as well as the _Symphony of Psalms_, which everyone seems to be raving about...


Try these two:


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

Andre said:


> Thanks for your recommendations & info about those lesser-known works, Buddha. I'll have to get them at some stage, as well as the _Symphony of Psalms_, which everyone seems to be raving about...


Just by the 22-CD set on Sony titled "Works of Igor Stravinsky" and be done with it.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Mirror Image said:


> Just by the 22-CD set on Sony titled "Works of Igor Stravinsky" and be done with it.


Bah! This is not amateur hour, MI!


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

BuddhaBandit said:


> Bah! This is not amateur hour, MI!


Amateur hour? Okay, I don't get it.

Nothing amateurish about the Sony Stravinsky box set.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Mirror Image said:


> Amateur hour? Okay, I don't get it.
> 
> Nothing amateurish about the Sony Stravinsky box set.


I was more referring to the "be done with it" part of the post- as if you can acquire a complete composer set and then consider yourself "done" with the composer. But, indeed, there are much better performances of many Stravinsky works than the Stravinsky-conducted ones. It's a great set, no doubt (I own a copy)- but Stravinsky was certainly not the best conductor of his works.


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

BuddhaBandit said:


> I was more referring to the "be done with it" part of the post- as if you can acquire a complete composer set and then consider yourself "done" with the composer. But, indeed, there are much better performances of many Stravinsky works than the Stravinsky-conducted ones. It's a great set, no doubt (I own a copy)- but Stravinsky was certainly not the best conductor of his works.


No, but I think he has the best knowledge of the pieces don't you? 

Anyway, that's very true. There are many great Stravinsky recordings available. I should know I about own them all.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Mirror Image said:


> No, but I think he has the best knowledge of the pieces don't you?


Sure- but everybody needs a new set of eyes, occasionally.


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

BuddhaBandit said:


> Sure- but everybody needs a new set of eyes, occasionally.


I was merely joking around with Andre when I said "...and be done with it" that's just one of my expressions. You certainly didn't mean to think that I was actually serious anyway did you?

I'm the last person who should be telling somebody else to quit collecting.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I've made no secret that Stravinsky is my favourite composer. 

I only have trouble with Les Noces which I can't quite get into.


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

jezbo said:


> I've made no secret that Stravinsky is my favourite composer.
> 
> I only have trouble with Les Noces which I can't quite get into.


You've got plenty of secrets, Jezbo. What else are you hiding?


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

Mirror Image said:


> You've got plenty of secrets, Jezbo. What else are you hiding?


I'm a closet metalhead!

(And that's where most of them should be kept...)


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

jezbo said:


> I'm a closet metalhead!
> 
> (And that's where most of them should be kept...)


Yes, we're all pretty versed on how you feel about those metalheads.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

Oh my name has now changed - super 

Nah I have nothing against metalheads or metal music - my 5 year old boy is showing signs of liking this music! He's cool  I'd just prefer not to have discussion of it here dilute the classical discussions.

I suppose Stravinsky was the head-banging music of it's day!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

bassClef said:


> Oh my name has now changed - super
> 
> Nah I have nothing against metalheads or metal music - my 5 year old boy is showing signs of liking this music! He's cool  I'd just prefer not to have discussion of it here dilute the classical discussions.
> 
> I suppose Stravinsky was the head-banging music of it's day!


Aside from the Rite, I don't think Stravinsky is all that "head banging." The Firebird is no more bombastic than Rimsky-Korsakov at his most brutal, and Petrushka, while wildly rhythmic, is not so in a hammering way. I really can't think of anything else in Stravinsky that comes close to the bone-crushing madness of the Rite.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

True enough, Tapkaara, that's the piece I had in mind.


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## bdelykleon (May 21, 2009)

bassClef said:


> I only have trouble with Les Noces which I can't quite get into.


Why? To me Les Noces ranks quite highly in my Stravinskian rank. I know of no other music with such a rythmic drive like this. Trule a masterpiece.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I'm not sure, it bothers me that I can't appreciate it properly since I'm a big Igor fan - I probably need to give it some more tries.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

Mirror Image said:


> I was merely joking around with Andre when I said "...and be done with it" that's just one of my expressions. You certainly didn't mean to think that I was actually serious anyway did you?


I know you were joking... that's why I responded with my "amateur hour" comment (which was also a joke).

Les Noces is a very good piece, but, IMO, not a top-tier Stravinsky work. It's one of the rare pieces in which Stravinsky uses folk songs verbatim- which, to some, makes it more interesting. I think Stravinsky had a good ear for melody without depending on folk song (just look at the themes of the Symphony in C), so Les Noces doesn't quite impress me as much as his other works. However, I do love the vocal parts in it...


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## Mirror Image (Apr 20, 2009)

I dig all of his "symphonies" if want to call them that: "Symphony in C," "Symphony in Three Movements," and "Symphony of Psalms" (which is my personal favorite). Outside of "The Rite of Spring" I enjoy the rest of his ballets: "Firebird," "Petrushka," "Pulcinella," "The Fairy's Kiss," "Apollo," "Agon," "Orpheus," etc.

He also wrote one really cool piece called "Welcoming Prelude" that only lasted about 50 seconds, but it's the most amazing 50 seconds of music I've every heard!


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Les Noces is pretty cool. Haven't taken it in in a while, but boy is it strange sounding. It sounds so modern because it sounds so ancient.


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## bdelykleon (May 21, 2009)

Tapkaara said:


> Les Noces is pretty cool. Haven't taken it in in a while, but boy is it strange sounding. It sounds so modern because it sounds so ancient.


And it proved an eternal inspiration to Carl Orff, who necer could match his model...


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## MessiaenIsGod (Mar 25, 2010)

The Rite is my favorite piece of music, period. 

But one I would like to mention that I haven't seen in here is Persephone, a really beautiful work.


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## Johnny (Mar 7, 2010)

The only piece I've heard by him is The Rite. Awesome. Have heard four or five versions. I think I like the 1958 Bernstein one the most. (Thanks to wiki for the recommendation.) But, even though Stravinsky apparently considered it "execrable", I still am a big fan of the Fantasia version.

Are there any particularly good versions of his other stuff that would be worth looking out for? God damn it there are too many versions of everything!


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## MessiaenIsGod (Mar 25, 2010)

Johnny said:


> The only piece I've heard by him is The Rite. Awesome. Have heard four or five versions. I think I like the 1958 Bernstein one the most. (Thanks to wiki for the recommendation.) But, even though Stravinsky apparently considered it "execrable", I still am a big fan of the Fantasia version.
> 
> Are there any particularly good versions of his other stuff that would be worth looking out for? God damn it there are too many versions of everything!


 There's an amazingly cheap ($49.98 on Amazon!) 22-CD box set of Stravinsky that will get you near everything, it's mostly all conducted by Stravinsky himself, the performances are accurate but a little dry, Stravinsky was a much better composer than a conductor!

There is A LOT out there so I find it difficult to recommend specific recordings but I could recommend particular compositions. Stravinsky never wrote something quite as earth-shattering as The Rite again, he kind of retreated away from it and went down a more neo-classical vein. That being said, the following are really strong pieces that you may enjoy:

The Firebird
Les Noces (The Wedding) 
Symphony Of Psalms
Concerto In D
Persephone
Symphony In Three Movements
Symphony In C


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## Johnny (Mar 7, 2010)

Thanks. I guess there really isn't much else other than trial and error to find versions that appeal. Just if there were any that anyone thought were particularly noteworthy, I may make them more of a priority.


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## Falstaft (Mar 27, 2010)

As a kid, the Rite was one of the first pieces of classical music I really sunk my teeth into -- Fantasia, and my interest in dinosaurs, had much to do with that I'm sure. I couldn't get enough of it then and I can't get enough of it now. None of its intensity is lost when you become familiar with it over the years. 

A piece of Stravinsky's I recently discovered is his Scherzo Fantastique. It's a *very* early piece, possibly even before Fireworks, but it's a dazzler. Pure Rimsky-Korsakov influenced magic here. What's amazing is that you can already tell that he has completely internalized the harmonic and orchestral mastery of Korsakov, but everywhere it's like he's trying to outdo him.


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## Ian Elliott (Nov 15, 2010)

So much of his music is both earthy and very funny. The Danses Concertantes come to mind. The Concertino for Eleven Instruments. The Octet. And, of course, L'Histoire du Soldat.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I liked Stravinsky when I was young....Especially his period from 000 to the NOCES (the wedding) all his neo-classical period is awful...Except the rite of spring...he didn't do anything exciting again. I prefer The Musicians from Vienna one thousand times: Zemlinsky, Schreker, Schönberg, Berg, Webern, Wellesz...THEY are great! Stupid Stravinsky was a Webern admiror and tried to copy dodecaphonic music with his pitiful ballet Agon, a disaster...and Threni...bad stuff, believe me.


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## Toddlertoddy (Sep 17, 2011)

I thought his neo-classical period was amazing. But I'm not a huge fan of his serial works. I would personally recommend the big 3 ballets (Rite, Petrushka, Firebird), Dumbarton Oaks Concerto, Pulcinella, the not-so-loved Ebony Concerto, and Agon (sometimes). There are so many overlooked gems during his neoclassical period, especially his concerti.


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## Beaemily (Oct 17, 2017)

Omg! So glad I found this...
Stravinsky is my favorite composer ever!
I love his ballet music (petruska, rite of spring and firebird) and both his symphonies, symphony of psalms and the amazing violin concerto in D!
For me, I cannot find a better composer!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

One of my first exposures to classical was listening to my uncle's 78's of the Histoire du Soldat. I didn't know what was going on, but it was somehow compelling. From there my next encounter was several years later with the Symphony of Psalms. Then the Ebony Concerto and Dumbarton Oaks. By now, I've heard all the usual suspects. 

Now I've come full circle: I am fascinated by his Canticum Sacrum and Requiem Canticles. Again, I don't know exactly what's going on, but it is compelling.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Beaemily said:


> Omg! So glad I found this...
> Stravinsky is my favorite composer ever!
> I love his ballet music (petruska, rite of spring and firebird) and both his symphonies, symphony of psalms and the amazing violin concerto in D!
> For me, I cannot find a better composer!


Hey, I noticed this is your first post. Welcome! I hope to hear more from you around here.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Was my favorite composer for a long time. The Rite was my favorite piece.

He's moved down a bit, but still close to the top of my list.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

There are many enjoyable lesser known, often short-ish works from all phases of Stravinsky's output which tend to get tucked away in the corners - here are some of my favourites:

The short burlesque-pantomime _Renard_ (1916):
Piano Sonata (1924):
Ballet - _Jeu de cartes_ (1936):
_Ode_ for orchestra (1943):
_Elegy_ for solo viola (1944):
_Epitaphium_ for flute, clarinet and harp (1959):
Cantata - _A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer_ (1960-61):


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

I agree wholeheartedly about the comment above about "lesser known" Stravinsky works, a description I suppose you could give to everything other than The Firebird, Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring. The Octet, The Soldier's Tale, Ragtime for 11 Instruments, Dumbarton Oaks, Symphony in C, Violin Concerto in D, Ebony Concerto, Pulcinella, Card Game, The Fairy's Kiss, Circus Polka, and Song of the Nightingale, among others, are absolutely essential to western music in my opinion, and there are several superb smaller pieces and chamber music I would not be without. The list above by elgars ghost (what a moniker!) is very good. Stravinsky had a profound influence on modern western music, more so than Schoenberg, a fact that Schoenberg himself understood and bitterly resented.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm glad this thread has been resurrected by listeners who for one thing appear to appreciate Stravinsky for not resting on his compositional laurels, although I have heard some dissenters away from these boards who seem to think that Stravinsky painted himself into his neoclassical corner for too long before gravitating towards his later more austere period. This thread has also reminded me how unpleasantly dismissive the ex-member known as Myaskovsky2002 was towards anything which didn't happen to please him. 
:wave:


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

When I was about 11 or 12 years old I would listen with my dad when he played LP's from an RCA box set. Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss were fantastic, but it was Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" that blew me away. From that time on I have loved classical music. Like Simon Moon stated above (post 38), Stravinsky was for a long time my favorite composer, followed by R. Strauss as a close second. As I've matured, I've branched out. But I will say this; I have more versions of the "Rite of Spring" and "The Firebird" than I do of any other classical pieces. I guess I still can't get enough, always looking for another performance that will take it another step further.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Beaemily said:


> Omg! So glad I found this...
> Stravinsky is my favorite composer ever!
> I love his ballet music (petruska, rite of spring and firebird) and both his symphonies, symphony of psalms and the amazing violin concerto in D!
> For me, I cannot find a better composer!


And we are all glad you found us, welcome to Talk Classical.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Of course I welcome new members but Pugg, again, please just speak for yourself. I have no knowledge that you were appointed in any position representing the rest of us. If you keep insisting on this position I suggest you ask permission with the TC staff or someone organize a poll in which you could be elected amongst other candidates.


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