marc blitzstein - the phenomenon of stravinsky

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The Phenomenon of StravinskyAuthor(s): Marc BlitzsteinSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 4, Anniversary Issue: Highlights from the First75 Years (Winter, 1991), pp. 51-69Published by: Oxford University Press

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ThePhenomenonf travinsky

Marc litzstein

July1935

MarcBlitzstein1905-64)wasperhapshemostrticulatexponentf henew implicity,f hengageopulismnd ocial esponsibilityhatttractedthe oungermericanomposershoppearedn the cenenthe wenties

and hirties.iscritiquef travinsky'seoclassicism-morer ess romMarxistoint fview-holdspextremelyellnthisnti-Marxistge.

Stravinsky'sreatnesssas thegreatnessfC. P. E. Bach.Or as thatof heFlorentineonodist,eri. everalfhisworkspproachhe

final reatnessfMozart,fMonteverdi,fJ. . Bach.Theyhaveconceptionsnd ninitialmpulsef omparableize; heyre mpor-tant tterances.ut omethingnterveneso make hemess hancrucialmasterpiecessomepowerfullaw,ubtlerobvious,poilingpart r allof work.nOedipusex wo cenes ounder,arryingwith hemhebasic ecurityf lltherest; et hepsychologicalon-tent fOedipussamonghemostmomentousnmusic.nthe acreduPrintempshefragment-schemeets eyondhe omposer'sontrol,resultingn a formhat s ittle etterhan high-classedley.ntheSymphoniee Psaumesfundamentalonfusionxists etween hat sspirituallyndwhatsonly ensuouslyompelling.

There s nodenyinghegreatnessfStravinsky.tis ust hat eisnotgreat nough.

Theyoungeromposers,racticallyllofthem,re nfluencedyStravinsky.hey re, none sense ranother,isoffspring.hey wemore ohim han ohiscontemporaries.ch6nberg'sontributionstechnicallyore oherenthan is,but ess ommunicable.art6k

andde Falla eave egaciesorNationalistsndFolklorists,he nepassionate,he therhevaleresque.omposersrefreeo borrowndsteal romavel; ut nly heveryrenchndthevery oung illswallow imwhole.Stravinskysreally he man.

51








52 TheMusicaluarterly

This s thephenomenon:composerith genius nly artiallyrealized, ith nly neortwoworks ixed ormmortality,asnever-theless een he igure,henfluence,nthemusicfhisday; nd,althoughackingn ultimatereatness,eoccupies positionnmusi-caltime he xact ppositef, ndnot ess mportanthan, heposi-tion ccupiedyBeethoven.

Until 930, travinskyeld hekey ositionntwentieth-centuryusic. syethe hasno successor.onehastakenmusic ndcarriedtonfromhepoint owhich e,athisbest, as iftedt.

And nrecent earsthasbecomepparenthat travinskyay otturn he rickimself,hat he imesperhapsipe or nother.hereis at themomenthiatus etweentravinskynd thenext ne.

A great ealhasbeen aid ndwrittenbout travinsky.. deSchloezer,blindworshipper,indshat hroughtravinskyhe wen-tiethenturyascreated stylenmusic, hereashenineteenthcenturyasunable o evolve ne.Herede Schloezerither verstatesorunderstates.y style emaymean implypattern.f o,heisbeing retentiousut ound.Orby style emay ereferringosomethingore bstract:omethingartlyechnicalndpartlysy-chological,hich anberecognizedsbelongingomany ifferentcompositions,ivinghem detachednd ndependentxistencesobjects, ndreleasinghem romeingmerelyependentsn a

composer'sersonality.fused n this ense, style s a terms cer-tainlyn understatement.ut t s n a measurerue hat travinskyhasplayedhemostmportantartndivorcingusic romhediary-

writingnd ndividualisticrtinessesf he atenineteenth-centurymanner.There re womain chools foppositionoStravinsky.ne

chargesimwithnconsistency.ith achwork eissupposedohave hangedismanner; otivatedy desire oprovokehepro-vincials,e hassetoutrepeatedlypon randomuest or ovelty.There re aid o be asmany travinskyss therereworksyhim.(Asa matterffact,heresonly neperiod,913-20,when eshows

ny ersatilityhatever.)he other chool f riticism

(adheredobyE. Newman)omplainshat e hashadonly oodis-mallyogical development,romadto worse:

P.trouchkaisa work

ofgenius, he Sacre tillreveals ower, ndall thesucceedingmusic sa steady ecline ntothe utter ankruptcyfthe atest neo-Classicworks.Theseare cited s proof fabject urrenderovenality,althought isnotexplainedwhy,fthisbe true, hey re ngeneralounpopular.)








Marc litzstein3

The admirersxaggerate,he ttackersre gnorantr worse.

Stravinskyswortheing nderstood.is musicmay olongereforusthemusicf omorrow;t scertainlykeywhichpens door. nanappraisalt shelpfulo knowwhere estands, hat e hasbeenabout,n what irectionis rt ends. omepre-Stravinskyacts renecessary.

Oneway f eeingmusical istorysthroughline f pochalforms,uch s theMass, heFugue,he onata, tc., ndtheir

accompanyingycles.2he mechanicalrocedurefthe yclessfamiliarnd ngenerallwayshe ame.Historyxistsnno neatdiagram,f ourse;verlappingndhiatusesnddivergencesremetrepeatedly.)here s anup-curve,eginningith periodf nven-tion ndexperiment.his sfolloweduccessivelyy periodf mal-gamationfmaterials,fwelding,ntegration,ndfloweringftheform.henbeginshedown-curve,xhibitinghevariousspectsfdecadence-interpretation,eflorescence,verstatement,isintegra-

tion, ctual ecay-whichre n turnucceededsometimesver-lapped) y heup-curvef new yclewithts nventionndexperimentrebellion,revolution ),ts malgamation,ts ntegra-tion, nd o on.

Takinguickargetridescrossime,tartingate ndmissingandgeneralizinggreat eal,here re ome hings e see:

Large orms: heFuguefJ. . Bach; heOratoriofHandel;the onata 1) ofMozartndHaydn;he onata II) of

BeethovenndSchubertRomanticism); theMusic-DramafWagnerRomanticismI).Up-curves:WillaertndtheGabrielisthe icercare)ndMerulo(the occata)oFrescobaldio theGerman horal-VariationenfSamuel cheidt ndtheChoral-Vorspielo BuxtehudeotheFuguefJ. . Bach.Carissimi,tc.,to theOratoriofHandel.C. P. E. Bach sonatas )o the onata fHaydn-Mozart-Beethoven.

SchumannoChopin-Liszto theMusic-DramafWagner.Down-curves:igtailmusic, apellmeistermusik,cademicugue-writingfter. . Bach.Brahmsthe interpreter )fter eethoven.R. Strauss fterWagner.

A special ycle-seriesoncerns heatre-music;ttravels oinci-dentlywith he other ycles:









Large orms:heOpera fMonteverdi;fPurcell;fHandel;

fGluck; fMozart;fRossini;fWeber;fVerdi;heMusic-Drama fWagner.Up-curves:MediaevalhansonsoGombertndJannequin,madrigalschains fmadrigals,triggio'slCicalmenteelle onnealbucato)oNuovemusichenFlorence-Peri,accini,Tenaglia-to heOpera fMonteverdi.ComicnterludesnoldMysteriesoNeopolitanpera uffaoOffenbachFrance),Beggars'pera England),ingspielGer-

many)ndthe

OperafMozart.

ThereformsfGluck othereformsfWeber othe eformsfWagner.Developmentf fluidramatictyle,hroughossini, ellini,etc.,totheOpera fVerdi.Down-curves:peraeria3fter onteverdi.Pompousclassic tylefSpontini, herubini,eyerbeer.TrivialitiesfDonizetti,tc.Cheap atenineteenth-centuryannerfPuccini,Massenet,

Mascagni,t l.

Beethoven'sonatawas hefirst,heMusic-DramafWagnerwas he econd urst fnineteenth-centuryomanticism.adeupofthe mpulsesowardsdealityndthe xaltationfthe ndividualwhichharacterizeheRomanticrt, heMusic-Dramaasprojectedbyparaphernaliaf size ndcomplexityndvarietyowhichnecanapplynly he djectiveWagnerian.' 4ecline sseen lmostimmediately:nthemusicfR. Strauss-annflatedestatement,essentiallyollow;nthe mysticismfScriabin, hosepoems reanuninterruptedlow f he ransition-measuresnWagner,eptendlesslyuspendedithn almost rientalndurance,ieldinglush, irless,ntense,tagnant usic;nd nthe rchestralirtuosityof heRussians,articularlyimsky-Korsakoffthegenealogyere sBerlioz,iszt-Wagner,imsky).heMusic-Dramaontainedts wndeath,which,nspite fthe arlyettingnofdecline, asbeeninordinatelylowncoming.

Meanwhile new oncept asbeing orn. criabin'schord fthefourthpenedheway f hinkingntermsfnewharmonicsystems.oussorgskyrickedhebubble fRomanticndividualismwith ismusic fhomelyussianealism. henDebussy:eevolvedthewhole-tonesystem, nd hewasagainstpersonalonfession.His Impressionism,is nature-music ere ntended obe a denialofWagner ndthephilosophic ermans.Ultimatelyhey reseento be








Marc litzstein5

a distillationf heWagnerianubstanceromhe motionallane o

theplane f he enses.Debussys a bridgeromWagner,travinskys a bridgerom

Debussy.nL'Oiseau eFeu,Petrouchka,he acre, Russianubject-matterndcolorfulntensityrewedded o mpressionistechniqueandpoint fview.ByMay1913,Primitivismsthusnauguratednmusic. arly rimitivismsviolent,hythmic,lunt, herempres-sionism asheadyndglamorous;arly rimitivisms ntentponshortuccessivelectric omentsatherhan pon rotractedotion-

lessdepiction;ut t has the ame ppeal o the enses,he amedependencepon atmosphere,nd t uses he ame eneralquip-ment. rom . StraussoPrimitivismhedown-curveontinues,tany atenthematterf stablishedenets. ounterpointsdiffused,chromaticismncreased;heres ess nd essdesignedolyphonicinterorganicovement,ore ndmore omophonynotmelody),color, ndmusic onceivednsingle locks. hehuge tatic hord-

thumpsfthe Rondesrintanieresndbeforehe Glorificationel'Elue nStravinsky'sacre re reductioExx.1,2].

They rethefinal eadlock eachedsthe esultf hundredyears'onsistentndeavor.utPrimitivismsalso nup-curve--theannouncementftwentieth-centuryxperiment.hat akes lacebetween'Oiseau eFeu 1910)andthe ompletionfLesNoces(1923) sfall ndnew ise or istory,nd nStravinskyremarkableexploratoryevelopmentowardshedefinitiverimitivisttatement.

ThefirstctofRossignol1908) splantedn mpressionism.Then ome itrouchkandthe acre,urning-points.he ast wo cts

ofRossignol1914)arefirmlyrimitivist-aactwhichmakes oodenough istory,ut ratheradopera.Nowcomes processionfsmallworks,xperiments.ome re uccessful,ome renot; llhavean exact imeliness,drive ndreach f maginationhatmade orthem isciplesn the pot. Youcanspeakwith ruthf heRenard-ists, hePulcinella-ists,ndtheNoces-ists.)heseworkseemwidelydifferentromneanother.hey reunitedy commonscape romRomanticismndgrandeur;y propulsionowardshenon-

individual,he

mpersonal,he

ypical;nd

byheirechnical eans.

TheresRenard,histoireurlesque, odel or he hamberolk-piece sPitrouchkaasmodel or he arge olk-ballet.enardsagile,rollicking,hittledown; t isbrand-new,crobaticheatre. hereare the TroisPodsies,he TroisPetiteshansons,heTroisPi~ces ourQuatuor Cordes, hePribaoutki,he BerceusesuChat-5-, 10- or20-measurepigrams,tudies n instrumentation,ocalsketchesor









Sostenuto pesanteFl.Cl.

_

A X~0 ~~ff > > >m_.- >

,AAA A AC?I. 4 4 I, bCor. V

V V V I V V, V V

A A A A A A A A

etc.

Vv

v V

im-d

Example. LeSacreu rintemps,ondesrintanieres

J 130Str.

TimM n

n f f 5 fl f f f

114ff',empren n n n rrn rr

i

IL Ig m

w w w U U Nw W W

Example. LeSacre uPrintemps,-m eforeGlorificatione 'Elue

RenardndNocesthevoice-lineung,hantedrshrieked,utalwaysxteriorized,opular, ilesway romSch6nberg'snnerSprechstimme).here sL'HistoireuSoldat,nextraordinaryocu-ment. tre-introduceshe peakerrNarratoro the tage;t snewensemble,ew heatrelue,oude, ansde );tprojectsmusic fsatireevealinghe nguish,kimmed-milkaietynd piritualovertyofpost-warurope.Weill's reigroschenopers tsdescendant,ut oftand entimentaly omparison.)here s thePiano-Rag-Music,hich








Marc litzstein7

recordspeed, rassness,azz nchunks,ust sPicasso'saquet e

Tabac 1914)recordsine-glass,eiling,able, pasted itofLeJournal.Stravinsky'selationo Picasso asbeen ufficientlyis-cussed. icassos the ternalclectic, isconceptshange ith isworks.travinskyhanges nly ismeans.) here sPulcinella,dapta-tion f oncertinondripienoo thenew rchestralconomy,dapta-tion f arlyighteenth-centurylegancend tyleo thepoint fview fL'HistoireuSoldat. here s theEtudeour ianola, hich,with hemechanicalightingale,aunchedn entireult:music rit-

tenfor, bout, ecause f heMachine. here re heTrois iecespour larinette,eat xamplesfStravinsky'snderstandingorhepossibilitiesf n instrument.here sfinallyhe antata-balletesNoces, eak fPrimitivism-aork f ize, egun,bandoned,reworkedrom914 o1917 o1923; tsformemolded,ts rchestra-tion ared own.5 oces s the learest, ost nifiediece fpurePrimitivismnmusic.tgatherspthe oose nds f periodnStravinsky,ndpreparesim or isnext tep. tnotonly olvesproblemsropoundednhisearlier orks-problemsfform-against-substance,fform-against-mosaic,f truck-and-blownound t tssimplestndmostomplex,frhythmith nd gainstmelody-itsolves s wellproblemsfBart6k,eFalla,Bloch. t isgreaterhantheSacre.WhatkeepsNoces romeing great orknthegreatineisthekind fthingt s nherently,hekind f hingrimitivisms:first-shockrt, heatrehat ades nddwindlesith epeatederfor-mances;ntoxicatinghefirstime,t ast bore.Theattitudetowardshematerialsnecessarilyensational,pportunistic;hebest

spotsre rouvailles,haracteristictravinskyanlashes,uch s (inNoces) heunearthlyplendorf hegong-strokesr thereiteratedwails f hemotherndmother-in-law,nterruptingachother,ttheendofthe hirdcene.Primitivismanmake perfectechnicalolu-tion,tcannotmake irst-ratert. tsbestworksrefuel, ot hefire.

A slow ransformationeginsnStravinskyvenbefore oces sfinished.heSymphonies'Instruments'aVent1920)bears hefruitftenyears'esearch,nmusicuddenlyeticent,mpersonalo the

point fnegation.ts peechs toned own lmost o naudibility.This s thefirstizable ork ot onceivedor he heatre. ith heSymphoniesagnerismsnotonly illed, utdead.Mavra,opera-bouffe1921-2), sa lastbackwardook o the oldierndtoRag-time; ut t too ispermeated ya newsobrietyndbya procedurethatmakes oresseccentricityndmore ine andformwithin hemusic. n the Octuor1923) quietreally eigns;hePrimitivistrgysno longer ven an echo. The music s at oncespontaneousnd con-









E Lento

lt. 4,, 9F.'- ,l. (P)Fag.bom-

II I

mfp5

Example. L'HistoireuSoldat,cene

Menomosso

Piano p rit. etc.

. , J..

Example. PNtrouchka,econd ableau

tained,he etofwind-instrumentsdhereso a closebalance f

color, ace nd ine hroughhreempeccable ovements.leanli-ness snext ogodliness.ndfor hefirstime,he tillmall oiceinStravinskysallowed o be heardhroughoutmovementtheTheme ndVariations )that oicewhichppearedor nly few

measuresnL'HistorieuSoldat,gain t a suddenull nP.trouchka.See the xamplesbove.)

As theOctuorssucceededy hePiano oncerto,he onate,the eirnade,ndOedipusex, hepath ecomeslear, verything

falls nto lace.What shappeningsthebuilding-upf chain fworksnthe integrationhase f he ycle.Guesswork,narchysover; hefoundationor common usicalanguageor heperiodsbeingaid.Whatwasusefulnexperimentations nowoined othetraditionalorms.hus he econdmovementf heConcertoillmake ome hink fBach,OedipusfHandel. t is not hat hemusicsounds t all likeBachorHandel;weare implyemindedhat heir








Marc litzstein9

musictill asurgencyor s. t iseasy o seewhyhere as n

Stravinskyo wish osay hat hemusic fWagnertill asurgencyfor s. Hispull swhollyway romomanticism;nd nseekingpoint f ontact e turnedaturallyo theformalatherhan o theformlessast.Forhistory,hen, heperiods allrise,ndfor travin-skyhe ntrancento heworld fgreatmusic. he Concerto(1923-4)hasonethrillingovement,he low ne. TheSerinade(1925), n ts Hymne nd Cadenza inala, hows new, enderStravinsky.InthePrimitivisteriodtwas lwayshe uick, ner-

geticectionsnwhich eexcelled; owhe isbestnthe low, er-vent nes.)Oedipusex 1926-7) s the chievement.t isStravinsky'seturno thenormalrchestra,ndto the heatre. otharetransformed.quilibriums the deal.There spre-occupationithorchestralolor, erensomber onochrome;ut he ther lementshave qual mportanceith olor. here spre-occupationith hetheatre-conceptOedipuss an opera-oratorio );ut heatrendmusic re quipoised,tagendorchestrare ike wo aces f hesame hing. he staticmonumentalspect f he heatreends obil-ity ndwingso themusic;hemusic oesnot ommentpon rdescribehe ction. he contentsnoble, rofound,ragic;hemeansare imple,xact. verythingells.

InOedipushere renospecial rouvailles;hatsmostmportantis the rganiclow rom easureomeasure,cene oscene, ct toact..... There re,however,wobad pots:he ria NonneMon-strum ccurst a high ointnthe econdct,yet t ssilly, reciousmusic;hebeginningfCreon's olo sartificial:t hasnoforce,nly

pomp. ogetherhe cenes ndermineubtlyhe ntiretabilityfbigwork. edipusshard-won.pollon usagete1927)movesightly,with ase.Stravinskyakes s a giftgain fthe trings-theresnolonger need o eschewexpressivenstruments,rto stressmusi-cal music. pollonasserenity,oftiness.et tshowsignsfdry-ness: cleanlinesst momentseginsoresemblehe bsessionfpeoplewhomustonstantlyash heir ands;nd ometimesheserenityoes retty,he oftinesssemptilyofty.. . The SacrendLes

Noces, rance-pieces,itual-pieces,ere nwittingestimonyoman's bjection; edipusndApollonreStravinsky'sestimonyo thedignityfman.

I said:heoccupies positionnmusicalime he xact ppositeof,and not ess mportanthan, heposition ccupied yBeethoven.

Beethovenppears t a momentf rise nd integrationClassi-cism, heSonata). He carriesonata-formo itsheight, oesforward,









breakshrough,ndplunges usicnto heRomanticra,which

proceedsater oa down-curvefgrandiosity,elf-vaunting,nbal-ance, tc.

Stravinskyppearst a momentffall nddeteriorationPost-Romanticism,mpressionism).e carriesecadenceodestruction,goes orward,reakshrough,nd tarts usic n thebuildingfnewup-curve.

It can besaid hat eethovenegan revolutionhich travin-skynded.

Themind fStravinskysphilosophic.istemperamentspagan. here sseen, speciallynhis ater eriod, great ish o bespiritual;ometimesesucceeds,ometimese showsnly hemoralfervoror t. Moral ffort,haracter,sbehindll therecentmusic.No oneseems ohaveremarkedhis.He has een direction,ndhehaswilled imselfowardst. The actual alent asbeenplasticndyielding;ut ometimesthasbeen ecalcitrant,nd struggleasbeen et

up,with uch

piecesthe

ymphonieePsaumesor attle-

ground.In hismusic e is ntellectual,erious,ensual. e is

objective --hisorksrenot onceiveds extensionsfhimself;fcourseheyrepersonalust he ame.He is a Russian;ot he yricalfluentussian,atherhepainstakingriginalussian. e is ntensiveratherhan xtensive;eprobesertainreas eeplyndwith ccu-racyndexhaustiveness.e isnot ll over he ot, ikeHindemith;he has ess nvention,ess ange,utmoremagination,ore ar-

sensitiveness,orecope.He hasvigorndfinish;he wo ualitiesnotonly o notprecludeachother,nhismusicheyet achotheroff. e isnot bundant;e writesardly orehan neor twoworksa year. his spartlywingohisfunctions a pioneer;omucheffortoes ntomeansnd nto hedevelopmentrom orkoworkthat here annot emany roducts.

Theoutstandingechnicalacts hiseconomy.his s ncreas-ingly resentnallhismusic nd n all the lementsf t. What

mightave akennepisoden the acrewhichs ess ong-windedthan 'Oiseau eFeu,whichnturns a masterpiecef conomyom-paredoRimsky'schihMrazade)sepitomizedy singlehordnLesNoces ra single ausenOedipus.eople peakometimesf heeconomyfSatie. Erik atie wastotallynnocent fcomplication,ismusic s inno sense stripping-offf non-essentials.hereforehereisno implicitmusic, heresonlywhat here s. This makes orcharm,ndtheperfectmall rt. n Stravinskyhe musichas layers,








Marc litzstein1

context,past. tsdimensionsre arge.Inthemost ecentmusic

the conomyometimesegeneratesnto nover-refinement.)Stravinskys not contrapuntist.is nterestasalwayseen

in theverticalspectsfmusic-harmony,imbre,hord-spacing.A dozen hings ay appentonce nhisworks;hey onot onsti-tute ounterpointnymorehan evenmixed olorsmake spec-trum. armonys the lementhroughhicho findtravinsky;su-ally particulararmonicerceptionrovideshegerminalmpulsefor work. ou can be interestedn thekey-polychordnPe'trouchka

or na polychordnthe acre r n the ymphonieePsaumesExx.5-7].Oryou anpreferhe xtraordinaryvolutionfninths,lev-enths,ndthirteenths,o a pointwhereheyppearstonic-against-dominant,s inApollonEx.8];orthe uiet isclosuref familiarchordna new etting,s inthe erenadeEx.9].Theharmonysalwayseferableonally,heresnoatonalityndno consistentoly-tonality.

Next n mportances the nstrumentation.hefirsttage

employshemastodonic

imskyanrchestrased n

P.trouchkaand

the acre; lexible,naggregatefmassesnd oli.Thesystemfchoirsn familiessmaintained;edals nddoublingreused is-creetly;heresa special ondnessf owwood ndhigh rass;hestringsreusedmostlyorpecial ffectsndforweeping elodicpassages.he secondtagesexperimentithmall ombinations.The familiesreak p; ndividualnstrumentsppearutofturnndinunexpectedegisters;edals isappear,o dodoublings;esoundingmassesiveway osharpdgesnd nunequalurface,he ld

splashesf hick olor re ucceededy aw ilencesutby hepeepof nE-flatlarinetndthe quawkf violin layingriple-stopsstaccati.he ensemble-chordfL'Histoireu Soldatsmade pof or-net,violin, larinet,assoon,rombone,ouble-bass,ndbattery.nthenext tage,which eads romhe ymphonieshroughheOctuorothePiano oncerto,he tringsredispensedithntirely;he oundis nowpurposelynplastic,eaden, elvetyrbrittle,ithoutuance.Graduallye come ack othe tringsgain.Oedipusex ses choir

ofthem;here retwoworks oroloviolin;nd tringslone ppearinApollon,herehey ave hedeepwineyheen fdamask,rich-nessundreamedf nthe arly eriodfgaudyolors. heorchestra-tion f he ymphonieePsaumessextraordinary.tisthe atesttage:'cellosandbasses, hoirs fflutes, boes,trumpets,orns, ianos.Single inesofmusic reorchestratednstrata,with newsenseofdoubling, alculated oproduce substancet oncethick,wiry,ndtransparent.his is alsogotthroughncrediblyensitivepacing; uch









A

Example. Petrouchka,olychord

vv.

Example. Sacre u rintemps,olychord

Chorus

etc.

.-, ,

Example. SymphonieePsaumes,olychords

65 Adagio

s - ,,.-.etc.

A.?

Example. Apollonusage,Pasde deux

J=84

Piano legato etc.

Ai

Example.Sr~.nade

en a,Cadenza inala








Marc litzstein3

a chordsthehigh-waterarkfStravinsky'sxperimentationncolor

Ex.10].Fl.

Ob

Chorus Pfti.

Tromb.

C.Fag. Strtr.XY

Example 0. SymphonieePsaumes,rd-movementhord

Stravinskyas hefirstoemploynasymmetricalormulaorrhythm.omposersefore imhadplayed ith ccent-elisionndaccent-displacement;e made t a basis or hythmicrocedure.ustasMoussorgskyay e said ohaverescuedhythmromWagner,oStravinskyasrescuedhythmrommpressionismndthePost-

Romantics.nhis atermusic he ffects ess xciting,ecause hemusics moreober; ut herhythmicalngenuitys f nythingoremarkedhannthebeginning.t isespeciallyuccessfulnthe lowmovements,here ne feels new tread asbeendiscovered.orrhythmicnterest,e hasneverxcelled his cene romedipusEx.11].

As tomelody:he arly orksreusuallyompoundedfRussianfolk-themes-aew otes haracteristicallylippedndreshuffledseeEx. 12]. n the lassic eriod,hemelodicontent asmore reathandcontour;hematerials ikeBachorHandel rMozartrJ.StraussrDelibes rGounod rTchaikovsky.hy o thosewhowere ontent ith orrowed elodiesnthefirsteriod omplaintunoriginalnes n the atermusic? ecentlyheresanattemptohandlemelodiesf omeengthy he arlymethod;his ometimessucceeds,s inApollon,utmore ftensunsatisfactory.

Theearlymusicsconceivedn uxtaposedragments,eliber-ately rokenp;themethodequiresmall ormulasf hords,

rhythms,otes. he ideabehindhe ater iecessorganicrowth.After pollon usagete,herere heBaisere aFdeandthe

Capriccio-smallorks,ntertaining,heCapricciospecially.heConcertoour iolonssmall oo,but t sunamusing,orced,eak,unreal. he DuoConcertantor iolinndpiano-does tholduptotally?tsfivemovementsre ike ive arlier orks:hefirstike heSymphonieePsaumesbutbetter),he econdike he oldatbutworse),he hirdikeApollonworse),nd o on. . . These re ll









139 Messengercant. p

Rep- pe - re ram in - mo- nte pu - e rumOe - di - po -

I

da, de - re - li - ctum in - mo- nte par-vu - lum Oe - di - po - da

: et,

1--etr-1KN IF

Example1. Oedipusex, ctI

32 Tempo iusto= 50

_e }o I I LI ii ', I I L.I I[ r-L . . . . ,,,. .~ IY I

M[ : , 4 4~-Pf

Example2. LeSacre uPrintemps,anses esAdolescents

small ry. ut he ymphonieePsaumes1930) sa work f cale; t sStravinsky'svowal ffaith, istributeo Christianumility,oveand we nthe ightfGod. Yetthepiece snotChristianutpagan,as Stravinskyspagan, s he cannothelpbutbe.6Man,after henobilityfOedipusndApollon,s once gain educedo the tate fself-castigatingavage, preyo vilefearsndfreneticxaltations.The last ections restrainedndhushed,ightnconception.ut he








Marc litzstein5

AAkda 09Example3.

two hords hicharrytgive ut sensuous armthnsteadfspiritualne.They redangerouslylose o the adence f panishguitar-musicEx.13].The musiculls ndpacifiesurmiddles,otour ouls.Weareback gain ttrouvailles,atmosphere --inword,Primitivism,xcepthat hismusicsmorescetic,ess ulsome.t iscurioushat ven he arlyechnical abits eturn.hefirst ove-mentsconstructedf mall ormulas.hesecond,ntroducinghehuge remisef double-fugueo soonerxposedhan oncluded,sall head ndnobody. he thirds

spectacle--ritual,rgy,rocession,ritual . . Persiphonettemptso eschewxcitement;o realize lassicbalance,nd kind fformalealism,otunlike luck.But,whereasthemusicmoved reelyithinheframeworkfOedipus,nPers&-phonet sstrained,neasyndrigid;lso t s music fminorcope,stretchedo thedimensionsf majorntention.oth lashesndextendedassagesppear;heyre misalliance,hepassages issipateandgetmonotonous,heflashesre mbeddedndbadlyetoff. fterPersiphoneomes series fpot-boilers,ranscriptionsostly:irs e

RossignoltMarchehinoise,uitetalienneromulcinella,ivertimentofromaiser e a Fee allfor iolinndpiano); econd uitetalienne('cello ndpiano).

In his atestmusictravinskysbetrayednto bstractionndpreciosity.ormalismnd uperficialityppear. ee,for xample,lltherepetitionsndchanges ungnon a single xpressivehrase,sinthe lowmovementf heViolinoncerto,r nPersiphonetthewords,Sur e lit lle erepose. ee the larmingncreasefone-

measurehythmicotivesontinuedhroughoutsection,aggingtheproceedingsndcuttingff lowEx.14].See the ncreasef riv-ialmaterial,ndof trivialreatmentf t.

WhathashappenedoStravinsky?is atest orkshow hesame ainstakingraftsmanshipoundnallhismusic. o it must esomethingeeperhan heway hemusicsmade. have hown hatnearlyenyearsgohesoughtooverthrowcertainttitudeowards









J 50

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leggiero

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+; + ' -J'i -::#::#J - -- ''----

_Tu des - cen - dras vers lui Pour

. etc.

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idff i L I . . -

A,'o, e ri de n fr, eC

i~~~~~- ?, ,h -, .1-------

-q:

,.. 1 ., -:{... I%.I_ .. . .

Example4. Persiphone,ct

art nd ifenhimself,ndto formy tsdestructionnothertti-

tude.Oedipusex s still hehigh oint f his ffortfwill. s itpossiblehat ehasoverestimatediscapacity?Beethovenhangedheface fmusic y superhumanffort;he

effortavehimnewvitalityndvision,makingimwritereatermusic han efore.

Stravinskylsochangedheface fmusic;herecent orksreforcefulnougho haveproclaimedhe nevitabilityf heir irection








Marc litzstein7

toa whole eneration.ut heres evidencehat he ffortas

exhaustedim; hat heforcefhispiecessprogressivelyiminish-ing; ndthat hey avegreatermportancesarrows,ndices,hannthemselves.

There s anotherhing. anart odaye made or istractionalone?Musicsof ourse everpure, absolute ;t salwaysoalarge egree reflectionf ts ime. veryreatmusical ormascrys-tallizedhe ulture-theesthetic,piritual,thnic,conomic

facts--inhicht occurred.t isa delayedrticulation,hatMarx

called superstructure.nStravinskyou an feel hat he imtowardsisciplinend musicfordersclose o therealityfhistime,venprophetic.utyou analsofeel hat iswish odivorcemusic romthertreamsf ife ssymptomaticf nescape romreality,ndthatt hasplayed partn the oss f taminaisnewworkshow. heApollon,heCapriccio,heBaisere a Feeareluxury-products,eemingosay whethertravinskynowst ornot)that hingsrefine;heymplyhe xistencef settled,erene,unshakableorld,owhichheyreornamentalontributions.

I havementionedhe truggleetweenistalentndhischarac-ter.The talenties hieflyn his magination,is nnovations,heflashes;tpropelshe ntireeriod eforeesNoces. he charactersrevealedy he ffortfwill, ndthe ransformationf ttitude;hemusic fteresNoces howshe alent eing ut ouseby he harac-ter.The deduction ay e made hatnStravinskyhe alentsamoreompletend djustedrganismhan he haracter,ut hathischaracters made pofbetter, oreastinglementshan is

talent.I donotfeel he ntegrityfStravinskys at issue. feel ispersonaltrengthndcapacityre.Thedirectionusic astakenbecausefStravinskysright.tistowardsimplicityafterxcessivecomplications),isciplineafterccentricitynd ruggedndividual-ism ), ommunicabilityaftervory-towerratoryndthe wildernessvoice).What s at stakenStravinskysthe bilityo maintainhedirection,o extendt,toreach tsgoal.To fulfilorthilyworthyframework.he last

ompositionsaket seem

robablehat ecan-

notdothis. tmay e thatwe shall ome ovaluehisclassic eriodless or ndividualorkshan ecause t markshe lose f heperiodof xperiment,ndbecause tbeginsnup-curvena cycle.Wemaylooktoyoungerndfresheralents o combine henewdisciplinewith n ideologyhatmore rulyeflectsherealityf theday.Wemay xpectfrom hem rebirthf thespirithatmakesmusic n









integratedart f he ulturalommunity,ndmoldst ntonewepochal orms-formshat rewithife, ot eparatedromt,noragainstt.

Notes

1. The music f henineteenthenturyad tendencyorun o forms-there-lude, hapsody,ymphonicoem,ven he atersonata, heWagnerianusic-drama-inwhich hemost oticeablehing as hat here asno form.his s theperiod hen hephrasethematerial ust ictatehe orm ost ts egitimateean-

ing,which ecame ebasedshordesf esseromposersentnfor spinelessndanarchicfreedom. ence he scapentoiterature,orubjectnd tructure.encethe etrogressiono the lementary-b-amodel,rthenaivelycomplex-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-(etc.d nf.--a of he ater omanticists.ence he eitmotif,hichhallmake orm herevertgoes.Hence ntroductionshicho not ntroduce,nterludesbetweennterludes,pilogueshich um pa contentowhereo be discovered.Hence, inally,hat ollapsef erminologyhereby sonata sanythingo namedby ts omposer;hereby,nfact, e Schloezeranfall nto isown rapnd allPitrouchkasymphonyecausethappenso be nfourections,oughlyuick,slow, uicker,uick.

It s difficulto seewhy nyonehould ant odrag ymphony-formntodiscussionf model enre-ballet;rwhy, aving raggedt n, nyonehouldhinktheballet s thebetterort.Perhapse Schloezersmerelynxiouso nterpretndagree ith travinsky,ho ome earsgo nsistedn themusical,on-literaryalueofhis heatre-works:e was t the ime eboundingndisgustromhehated ermprogram-music,ndwas lsoprojectingimselfishfullyowardsis aterlassic

period.

2. It would e nterestingndprofitable-butere rrelevant-toelate he orms,with heir ise ndfall, o variousmportantspectsfhistoryhichrecedednd

partiallyngenderedhem. lmostllmusical istoriansavemade his favoritepastime;ut eryew aveproceededrom well-definedtandpoint.ery ecently,Tchemodanoffas ttemptedhis,lthoughot ntirelyatisfactorily;lsoLebedin-sky.

3. Operaeria:ts lternatingria-parlantercantabilerdimezzoarrattererinfuriata-andecitative-seccor tromentato;ts howyrtificialityt,tsweak, oose,bombasticexts;ts ver-interestnperformance;ts rimoomo,rimaonna,illain,secondouple,laves, itizens,oldiers,lephants,eneral enagerie.esti's omod'Oro hootsheworks.

4. The Music-Dramaelongedoth o theatre-musicnd oncert-music,oiningBeethoven'sChoral ymphonyo Weber'sdeal f formnwhichallthe elatedandutilizedrtsmeet nddisappearnoneanother,nd . . formnewworldytheir wn estruction.hegreatnessf heMusic-Dramaay n ts ummingpandextensionf heRomanticemperymeans f he ncalculablyreat ersonalityfsingleman.Musicallytexhibitedirstignsf deterioration.slippingarmonicfoundationecamemore issolvedt thehands fWagner'slow-erodinghromati-cism.Rhythmically,he surgef he oul alled or,ndgot, heaving,nbroken








Marc litzstein9

torrent-bulkithoutccent. form hich ependedpon heLeitmotifor nitys

well sforhe emblancef rchitectureas nevitablyague,oose, literary.5. Firsttwasfor 50people-voicesndwind-instrumentsgainstwo tring-

orchestras;hen oringers,armonium,wo ymbalumsndpianola;n ts inalormitcalls or ourianos,olovoices,horusnd hirteenercussion-instruments.6. This tatements ndirectontradictiono the ommentsn the ymphoniee

Psaumesassedy he omposerithinur wnhearing,ncludinghe easons egave orwritinghework.Ed.

marc blitzstein - the phenomenon of stravinsky

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