Stravinsky: Essential Works for Beginners

Stravinsky: Essential Works for Beginners
The Rite of Spring
Symphony of Psalms
Petrushka
Orpheus
Oedipus Rex
Pulcinella
Les Noces
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[@georgeknowles6806]

A work that has a great story and enjoyable is the rarely mentioned The Soldiers Tale

[@dennischiapello3879]

The music is irresistible. The instrumentation is pure delight.

[@eliasmodernell3348]

Roger Waters recorded a narrated English version. I guess as a tribute his dad

[@robkeeleycomposer]

Not to mention 'Renard'!

[@maxhirsch7035]

Yeah, that's a great and somewhat singular work of his IMO. The suite recorded by Chicago Pro Musica is a great rendition of that form, and the recent LSO disc, with the narration by Malcolm Sinclair, was also a strong expression of the work.

[@murraylow4523]

Thanks George. Yes, it’s one of his very greatest works, and one of the most original and enjoyable. Just because it’s so stripped down because of wartime circumstances, and tuneful, doesn’t make it any less important than some of his other marvellous things. Maybe the full version with all the talking won’t be something you want to listen to weekly (I think for anglophones the version with Boston Chamber Players, John Gielgud, Ron Moody, Tom Courtenay is very much the best). The suite is just marvellous and would give anyone the idea, and the percussion at the end foreshadows so many other things. It’s amazing how challenging circumstances can sometimes create a great innovation :)

[@pederdunhage3619]

Stravinsky have been one of my favorite composers for many years. I was hooked on his music after hearing Tilson Thomas and the Boston Symphony's excellent recording of the Rite of Spring. Soon I also discovered some of Stravinsky's neoclassical works like Pulcinella, Orpheus and Apollon and was equally fascinated by those. Later on Stravinsky faced serious competion when other interesting modern composers like Bartok, Debussy and Ravel caught my attention, but I regularly return to the essental works of Stravinsky. This new series of talks by mr. Hurwitz promises to be a very useful one indeed for all of us who need help finding our way in the wonderful world of classical music.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That Rite was also the one that got me hooked! It's wonderful!

[@charlieclark983]

Thank you for this lovely synopsis. It is especially nice to hear you mention Orpheus, a great score and an unforgettable Balanchine ballet. So deeply moving.

[@robkeeleycomposer]

'Orpheus' is sublime. Stravinsky at his most lyrical and vulnerable.

[@dennischiapello3879]

I've envy your having seen the ballet. I've never had the opportunity. Did you see it at NYCB?

[@charlieclark983]

Yes, I've seen it several times since the NYCB revived it in the mid 1990s; they pair it with Apollo and Agon.@@dennischiapello3879

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

@@dennischiapello3879 I saw both Apollo and Orpheus many times at NYC Ballet. Not only the deathless choreographic conceptions of George Balanchine, the sets of Orpheus were created by the great Isamu Noguchi. A real collaboration of genius. And I was lucky to see these ballets with some of Balanchine's greatest dancers. These occasions leave a lifetime of memories.

[@johnandrewwindham6084]

Glad to see Orpheus here.

[@bbailey7818]

Not essential really, but I'd like to put in a word for Jeu de Cartes. It doesn’t get programmed often enough. It's light Stravinsky, sure, (a card game in three deals) but a lot of fun, even quoting Rossini, a perfect bit of Igorian champagne sec. Try it for a New Year's Eve classical program.

[@anthonycook6213]

When I was in high school (1973) I rode my bicycle by a college dorm when a flood of music blasted from within. I knew it had to be Stravinsky, but it was incredibly powerful but unfamiliar and I felt helpless at not knowing what it was. I banged on the door, and a group of students invited me in to join them in listening repeatedly to the Symphonies of Wind Instruments. It was the climactic brass section that I had heard. Also, Requiem Canticles has been making the rounds on KZbin Shorts recently, as someone pointed out that the terminally ill Robert Oppenheimer called Stravinsky as soon as he heard a recording of it in 1966, and requested permission for it to be played at his own funeral, which occurred 7 months later. Thank you David for the wonderful list of essentials, and as Leonard Bernstein pointed out in his lecture series in connection with The Soldier's Tale, there are always more absolutely must-hear Stravinsky compositions.

[@robkeeleycomposer]

Igor was - IS - still the Boss.

[@anthonycook6213]

No IFS about it.@@robkeeleycomposer

[@jackdolphy8965]

Fabulous list Dave. Of course starting with the Rite and last Les Noces. “I’m sure” you considered Symphonies of Wind Instruments… the orchestration is pinnacle Igor and the chorale at the end is as poignant as he ever got. Would love an installment of his ‘middle period’ chamber stuff, including the Symphonies of Winds.

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

Symphonies of Wind Instruments is sui generis in IMHO. No other composer of the time could have even conceived of such a unique work. Stravinsky's "vertical ear" was never clearer than this work. One of the greatest "ears" in Western Music. And the final chorale comprises one of his "eternal" endings. It is a work that rewards the time spent on it. There was once a wonderful Dutch documentary on the Symphonies on KZbin. It is a profoundly moving work. I would also recommend the Mass--the Agnus Dei (last movement) is as poignant and restrained as Symphonies. But everything he wrote is incredibly rewarding IMHO.

[@GG-cu9pg]

Hi Dave. Would love a talk on Stravinsky’s rhythmic innovations. Perhaps with your experience as a percussionist in his works works thrown in. Examples (if you are inclined) courtesy of Robert Craft?

[@GG-cu9pg]

In the corresponding Bartok video, you mention Bartok went through a dip in popularity as often happens to hugely respected composers after their death. Stravinsky seems to be bulletproof though. Perhaps most impressively, his great works are ballet, something many critics don’t take seriously (Poor Tchaikovsky, although Stravinsky clearly loved him) and yet he is taken with a reverence by the majority akin to Bach or Haydn. I speculate that in addition to his influence, it’s the highly public breakthroughs/riots accompanying his work and his urbane, cosmopolitan image that add to the mythos. And yes, he was funny too.

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

enigmatic chord of Requiem Canticles. There is so much to discover in his music-what I used to describe as “a reason to live.” I can sit dry-eyed through Puccini and yet feel on the verge of tears during the somehow wistful tiny interludes in the finale of Pulcinella. Each to his/her/their own, I suppose. Thanks again for your great introductions.

[@Warp75]

I get a massive buzz out of some of Stravinsky’s works & feel absolutely nothing listening to Puccini. Each to their own for sure.

[@aarong5716]

Thanks, I look forward to checking these out! In the past, I've listened to a whole bunch of Stravinsky's Neo-Classical works with only limited success, but surprisingly "Symphony of Psalms" is the only 1/5 on this list I've tried.

[@maxhirsch7035]

Another one, the Dumbarton Oaks Cto, may be one of his neo-classical works to check out, if you haven't yet. More emotional IMO than most of his oeuvre. The version conducted by Boulez is, perhaps ironically, a slightly more romantically-voiced interpretation of the work than is typically the case. I'd say it's a bit of a 'sleeper' work of Igor's.

[@aarong5716]

@@maxhirsch7035 Thanks! Yes, so far Dunbarton Oaks and the Violin Concerto are his two Neo-Classical works I've enjoyed most. Of the works Dave mentioned, I was listening to Les Noces earlier on, and I like it a lot (it's kind of hilarious, actually), though I'm realizing it's closer to his early ballets than the Neo-Classical stuff.

[@timyork6150]

This is about the best appreciation of Stravinsky's musical phases which I have ever heard or read. I have had the 21 CD Stravinsky/Stravinsky box for some years but I doubt if I have listened to everything in it, especially the vocal music because of lack of texts (rant!). It looks as if I should deepen my knowledge of Orpheus and Les Noces before venturing back into the more sacred works. Thanks, Dave.

[@fortunatomartino8549]

Great suggestions Thanks!

[@Brandon55638]

I first discovered Stravinsky when I was a teenager. I was really into his harmonically adventurous music (like The Rite of Spring). I recently found out that he generated his chords from a pair of fifths rather than two different keys stacked on top of each other. There are places where you find conventional triads and polytonality, but that is just a small part of the harmonic variety that Stravinsky created.

[@RyanRenteria]

les noces is really an amazing piece.

[@williamwhittle216]

Have never been drawn to the vocal works, but the others are ingrained in my system.

[@madrigal1956]

I certainly can understand that but by all means, I can only concur with Mr Hurwitz : do perseverate with Oedipus Rex and Les Noces ; masterpieces!

[@madrigal1956]

As a huge fan of Stravinsky, I enjoyed very much this video (great comments on Oedipus Rex and Les Noces!). Well of course I would not have chosen necessarily the same ones, or rather I would have added certainly L'Histoire du Soldat (I just attended a live performance, it's decidedly irresistible), and one of the concertos (violin? piano? capriccio?). But then... It's all the better that way. I have not been listening to Orpheus for aeons, I'll do that!

[@dennischiapello3879]

I'm a Stravinsky-lover, but Oedipus Rex has been a tough nut to crack. Your words about it will be helpful for my next attempts. It has always frustrated me that Apollo seems to outstrip Orpheus in popularity--on recordings and on the ballet stage (for understandable practical reasons.) But for me, Orpheus is far more rewarding, musically--more colorful, varied, and emotionally affecting (with Stravinsky, you gotta grab that when you can!)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It was for me too. Oedipus is kind of a whiny character, and it only really hit me when I started with Act II--the entrance of Jocasta. Her gorgeously sexy aria (a perfect baroque da capo) and then the ensuing loony duet just floored me. And from their the action is non-stop and very swift.

[@samlaser1975]

Perhaps the Hurwitz magic (unless already given) on "Works Of Igor Stravinsky as part of your series The Most Important Recording Projects EVAH!! Admittedly you won't find all the recordings in that set as good as many later recordings under different conductors, but I find this set fascinating and educational as well-at least as examples of Stravinsky music played as Starvinsky wanted.

[@davidmayhew8083]

I might be wrong, but aside from just a passing mention, have you ever talked about his "Symphony in Three Movements"?

[@dmntuba]

As much as I love The Firebird I do agree with you on Petrushka...it has a major Tuba solo ♥️👍

[@dsammut8831]

Marvellous Talk; thought you'd turned into Bernstein!

[@robkeeleycomposer]

Wot, no 'Circus Polka?, As Elgar's 'March of the Mogul Emperors' is his greatest work?? You gotta have elephants! 🙂 And for the late period, is there anything more delicious and seductive than 'Agon.?

[@anthonycook6213]

Don't forget the roosters and foxes, cats and goats of Renard!

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

@@anthonycook6213 Renard is another of his mini-masterpieces for small ensembles and singers. Utterly transfixing onstage.

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

Also "Scherzo a la Russe," another pocket-masterpiece.

[@captainhaddock6435]

Looking forward to "Boulez: Essential Works for Beginners" Just kidding. Would make for a fun April fool's video though

[@murraylow4523]

Sigh. Well that might be something like Le marteau sans maître (a work Stravinsky admired, incidentally) Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna (even Dave likes this) Sur incises And maybe Anthemes 2 for violin/ electronics Maybe April would be a good time to discuss ;-)

[@georgesdelatour]

@@murraylow4523 My favourite Boulez work is Eclat.

[@sbor2020]

Nothing foolish about _Rituel: In memoriam Bruno Maderna_ - a fabulous work, as is _Le Marteau sans maître_ ; you could even throw in the Piano Sonata No. 2.

[@murraylow4523]

Indeed. I’m not personally keen on the piano sonatas, but on the other hand, he wrote interesting music with a cool sense of timbre. Maybe I’m wrong but I think a lot of dismissal of Boulez results from not wanting to listen, or learn, so we are just rude about it instead @@sbor2020

[@dennischiapello3879]

@@sbor2020 Dave has given a thumbs up to Rituel. I'm all in with Marteau and the Piano Sonata No.2.

[@JarrettWalksOttawa]

Well guess I'll forget about being an Insider if I can't even get an email reply.

[@bumblesby]

Interesting. I have emailed ClassicsToday a few times and have always received a reply. Just wanted to let people know it is not the norm.