The Phenomenon of Stravinsky Author(s): Marc Blitzstein Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 75, No.

4, Anniversary Issue: Highlights from the First 75 Years (Winter, 1991), pp. 51-69 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/741833 . Accessed: 06/12/2013 03:50
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Musical Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ThePhenomenon ofStravinsky
Marc Blitzstein
July1935 the MarcBlitzstein most articulate (1905-64)wasperhaps exponent ofthe and new the social that attracted of engage populism responsibility simplicity, inthe the American who onthe scene twenties appeared younger composers andthirties. Hiscritique neoclassicism-more or a less from ofStravinsky's inthis well Marxist anti-Marxist point ofview-holds upextremely age.

is as thegreatness ofC. P. E. Bach.Or as that Stravinsky's greatness ofhisworks oftheFlorentine the Peri.Several monodist, approach S. Bach.They ofMozart, ofMonteverdi, ofJ. final have greatness andan initial ofcomparable areimporsize;they conceptions impulse tant Butsomething intervenes to make them lessthan utterances. crucial -some powerful orobvious, subtle flaw, masterpieces spoiling In Oedipus orall ofa work. Rextwoscenes go under, part carrying with them thebasicsecurity ofall therest; conyetthepsychological ofOedipus is among in music. tent themost momentous In theSacre duPrintemps thefragment-scheme thecomposer's control, beyond gets in a form that is little better a high-class than In the resulting medley. dePsaumes a fundamental confusion exists between what is Symphonie is and what only sensuously spiritually compelling. There is no denying thegreatness ofStravinsky. It is justthat he is notgreat enough. The younger all ofthem, areinfluenced composers, practically by oranother, hisoffspring. owe Theyare,in one sense Stravinsky. They more to himthan to hiscontemporaries. contribution is Sch6nberg's more coherent than less but communicable. Bart6k his, technically andde Fallaleavelegacies for Nationalists andFolklorists, theone theother arefree toborrow and passionate, chevaleresque. Composers stealfrom thevery French andthevery will Ravel;butonly young
himwhole.Stravinsky swallow is really the man.

51

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

52 TheMusical Quarterly

Thisis thephenomenon: a composer with a genius only partially with oneortwoworks fixed for hasneverrealized, only immortality, the in themusic theless beenthe ofhisday;and, influence, figure, in ultimate he in musia position although lacking greatness, occupies theexact cal time and not less the of, than, posiopposite important tionoccupied byBeethoven. Until1930,Stravinsky in twentiethheldthekey position As yethe hasno successor. music. Nonehastaken music and century iton from thepoint carried to which haslifted it. he, at hisbest, ithasbecome Andin recent that not years Stravinsky may apparent turn thetrick that thetime is perhaps for another. There himself, ripe is at themoment a hiatus next between and"the one." Stravinsky A great B. de dealhasbeensaidandwritten about Stravinsky. a finds blind that the Schloezer, through Stravinsky twenworshipper, in tieth has created a thenineteenth whereas century style music, wasunable to evolve one. Herede Schloezer either overstates century he may orunderstates. mean Ifso, he is By"style" simply "pattern." 1 Or by"style" butsound. he may be referring to being pretentious more abstract: technical and something something partly partly psywhich canbe recognized as belonging to many different chological, them a detached andindependent existence as giving compositions, them from on a andreleasing merely being dependents "objects," Ifusedin this as a term is cersense, "style" personality. composer's it But is in a measure true that an understatement. Stravinsky tainly indivorcing music from thediaryhasplayed themost part important andindividualistic artinesses ofthelatenineteenth-century writing manner. There schools ofopposition to Stravinsky. One aretwomain him is with With each work he to inconsistency. charges supposed hismanner; motivated toprovoke theprohavechanged bya desire for he hassetoutrepeatedly vincials, novelty. upona random quest areworks as there There aresaidtobe as many Stravinskys byhim. is when he a matter of there one fact, 1913-20, (As only period, of criticism The other school shows whatever.) anyversatility to byE. Newman) that he hashadonly toodis(adhered complains is a work from a development, badto worse: mally logical P.trouchka musicis the Sacrestillreveals and all the ofgenius, succeeding power,
of the latest"neo-Classic" a steady declineintotheutter bankruptcy to venality, of abjectsurrender works. (These are citedas proof so it is not explained although why,ifthisbe true,theyare in general unpopular.)

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 53 Blitzstein

areignorant theattackers orworse. The admirers exaggerate, be for is worth understood. His music no longer being may Stravinsky a key which a door.In oftomorrow; it is certainly us themusic opens he stands, what he hasbeen it is helpful to know where an appraisal facts are in what direction his art tends. Some about, pre-Stravinsky necessary. musical is through a lineofepochal One way ofseeing history theSonata, suchas theMass,theFugue, etc.,andtheir forms, is The mechanical ofthecycles cycles.2 procedure accompanying exists in the same. no neat andin general familiar always (History andhiatuses anddivergences aremet ofcourse; diagram, overlapping with of There is an a beginning up-curve, period invenrepeatedly.) Thisis followed ofamaltionandexperiment. successively bya period ofwelding, andflowering ofmaterials, ofthe integration, gamation thevarious Thenbegins thedown-curve, form. of exhibiting aspects decadence- interpretation, deflorescence, overstatement, disintegraarein turn succeeded overactual tion, (sometimes decay-which with ofa newcycle itsinvention and bytheup-curve lapped) itsamalgamation, itsintegra("rebellion," "revolution"), experiment and so on. tion, strides across lateandmissing time, Taking large quick starting a great andgeneralizing wesee: deal,herearesome things forms: theFugue ofHandel; ofJ.S. Bach;theOratorio Large theSonata(1) ofMozart andHaydn; theSonata(II) of Beethoven andSchubert of (Romanticism I); theMusic-Drama (Romanticism Wagner II). Willaert andtheGabrielis andMerulo (thericercare) Up-curves: to the Frescobaldi German Choral-Variationen to of (thetoccata) Samuel Scheidt andtheChoral-Vorspiel to Buxtehude to the ofJ.S. Bach. Fugue ofHandel. Carissimi, etc.,to theOratorio to theSonataofHaydn-MozartC. P. E. Bach("sonatas") Beethoven. Schumann toChopin-Liszt to theMusic-Drama ofWagner. Down-curves: academic music, Pigtail Kapellmeistermusik, fugueS. after writing J. Bach.
Brahms after Beethoven. (the "interpreter") R. Strauss after Wagner.

A specialcycle-series concerns it travels coincitheatre-music; withthe othercycles: dently

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

54 TheMusical Quarterly

forms: theOpera ofMonteverdi; ofPurcell; ofHandel; of Large ofMozart; ofRossini; ofWeber; ofVerdi; theMusicGluck; Drama ofWagner. Mediaeval chansons toGombert andJannequin, Up-curves: ofmadrigals, delle donne (chains madrigals Striggio's Il Cicalmente al bucato) toNuove musiche in Florence-Peri, Caccini, Tenaglia-totheOperaofMonteverdi. ComicInterludes in oldMysteries toNeopolitan to Opera buffa Offenbach (France), "Beggars' Opera" (England), (GerSingspiel andtheOperaofMozart. many) The reforms ofGluck to thereforms ofWeber to thereforms of Wagner. ofa fluid dramatic Development Rossini, style, Bellini, through etc.,to theOperaofVerdi. Down-curves: after seria3 Monteverdi. Opera ofSpontini, "classic" style Pompous Cherubini, Meyerbeer. Trivialities ofDonizetti, etc. manner ofPuccini, Cheaplatenineteenth-century Massenet, etal. Mascagni, Beethoven's Sonatawasthefirst, theMusic-Drama ofWagner wasthesecond burst ofnineteenth-century Romanticism. Madeupof theimpulses towards andtheexaltation oftheindividual ideality which characterize theRomantic theMusic-Drama wasprojected art, of a size and and to one byparaphernalia complexity variety which can apply the Decline is seen almost only adjective in themusic R. Strauss-an of"Wagnerian.'"4 inflated immediately: restatement, in the"mysticism" ofScriabin, whose are hollow; essentially "poems" an uninterrupted flow ofthetransition-measures inWagner, kept with an almost Oriental a endlessly endurance, suspended yielding in and the orchestral lush, airless, intense, music; stagnant virtuosity oftheRussians, hereis (thegenealogy particularly Rimsky-Korsakoff The Music-Drama contained itsown Berlioz, Liszt-Wagner, Rimsky). in spite oftheearly in of has been death, which, decline, setting slowin coming. inordinately Meanwhile a newconcept wasbeing born. Scriabin's "chord of thefourth" theway ofthinking in terms ofnewharmonic opened thebubble ofRomantic individualism systems. Moussorgsky pricked with hismusic ofhomely Russian realism. ThenDebussy: he evolved

the whole-tone and he was against confession." "system," "personal His Impressionism, his "nature-music" wereintended to be a denialof and thephilosophic Germans. are seen to be Wagner Ultimately they

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 55 Blitzstein

a distillation oftheWagnerian substance from theemotional planeto theplaneofthesenses. is a bridge from is a bridge from Debussy Wagner, Stravinsky In L'Oiseau deFeu,Petrouchka, a Russian theSacre, Debussy. subjectarewedded to Impressionist matter andcolorful intensity technique is thus in andpoint ofview.ByMay1913,Primitivism inaugurated Primitivism is music. where violent, blunt, Early rhythmic, Impresandglamorous; Primitivism is intent sionism washeady early upon successive electric moments than short rather motionuponprotracted lessdepiction; butithasthesameappeal to thesenses, thesame anditusesthesame general dependence upon"atmosphere," equipR. Strauss ment. From to Primitivism thedown-curve at continues, ofestablished tenets. is diffused, anyratein thematter Counterpoint is lessandlessdesigned chromaticism there increased; polyphonic more andmore movement, (not melody), interorganic homophony in music conceived blocks. The static chordand "color," single huge and the of the "Rondes before "Glorification de thumps printanieres" in Stravinsky's Sacre area reductio l'Elue" [Exx.1,2]. deadlock reached as theresult ofa hundred Theyarethefinal But Primitivism is an consistent endeavor. also years' up-curve--the announcement oftwentieth-century Whattakes experiment. place L'Oiseau deFeu (1910)andthecompletion between ofLesNoces andnewrise for andin Stravinsky a remarkable (1923) is fall history, thedefinitive towards Primitivist statement. development exploratory is in The first actofRossignol (1908) planted Impressionism. andtheSacre, ThencomePitrouchka The lasttwoacts turning-points. ofRossignol Primitivist-a which fact makes (1914) arefirmly good buta rather badopera. Nowcomes a procession of history, enough small Somearesuccessful, some arenot;all have works, experiments. an exacttimeliness, a drive andreach ofimagination that made for them on the can with truth of the Renarddisciples spot.(You speak thePulcinella-ists, andtheNoces-ists.) Theseworks seem ists, widely different from one another. from Theyareunited bya common escape Romanticism andgrandeur; a towards the nonby propulsion theimpersonal, thetypical; andbytheir technical means. individual, is Renard, "histoire There model for thechamber folkburlesque," wasmodel for thelarge Renard folk-ballet. is agile, pieceas Pitrouchka
whittled acrobatic theatre. There down;it is brand-new, rollicking, are the TroisPodsies, the TroisPetites the Trois Chansons, pour Pi~ces the Pribaoutki, the Berceuses du Chat-5-, 10- or Quatuor a Cordes, 20-measure studies in instrumentation, vocal sketches for epigrams,

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

56 TheMusical Quarterly
e pesante Sostenuto
Cl.

?0

~~ff

A X~ AAA A I, C?I. 4 4 Lb
> > >m_.

Fl.

>

Cor.

V,

-d im
V v

etc.
v V

1. LeSacre duPrintemps, Rondes Printanieres Example J= 130

Str. Tim M n

fl

11

4ff',empren IL w mg I w

n
w

n
U

n
U

rrn m
Nw

rr
W W

is

2. Le Sacre duPrintemps, "Glorification de l'Elue" 1-mbefore Example

Renard andNoces(thevoice-line chanted orshrieked, but sung, miles from inner exteriorized, always popular, away Sch6nberg's There is L'Histoire duSoldat, an extraordinary docuSprechstimme). ment. It re-introduces theSpeaker orNarrator to thestage; it is new newtheatre itprojects a music of ensemble, ("lue, dansde"); joude, satire theanguish, skimmed-milk andspiritual revealing gaiety poverty ofpost-war is itsdescendant, butsoft (Weill's Europe. Dreigroschenoper andsentimental There is the which bycomparison.) Piano-Rag-Music,

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 57 Blitzstein

de records crassness, jazzin chunks, justas Picasso's speed, Paquet a records bit of Le Tabac(1914) table, pasted wine-glass, ceiling, relation to Picasso hasbeensufficiently disJournal. (Stravinsky's is theeternal hisconcepts with Picasso his cussed. eclectic, change his There is works. Pulcinella, Stravinsky changes only means.) adaptaandripieno to theneworchestral tionofconcertino economy, adaptationofearly andstyle to thepoint of eighteenth-century elegance Thereis theEtude view ofL'Histoire duSoldat. Pianola, which, pour themechanical with launched an entire cult:music writNightingale, tenfor, because of the Machine. There are the Trois Pieces about, neatexamples ofStravinsky's for the Clarinette, pour understanding ofan instrument. There is finally thecantata-ballet Les possibilities work ofsize, Noces, abandoned, peakofPrimitivism-a begun, reworked from itsorchestra1914to 1917to 1923;itsform remolded, down.5 tionpared Noces is theclearest, most unified pieceofpure in music. It gathers Primitivism the ends loose ofa period in up himfor andprepares hisnext solves Stravinsky, step.It notonly in hisearlier ofform-againstproblems propounded works-problems of of struck-and-blown sound at its substance, form-against-mosaic, and most of with and simplest complex, rhythm against melody-it solves as wellproblems ofBart6k, de Falla,Bloch.It is greater than theSacre. Whatkeeps Noces from a great in thegreat work line being is thekind ofthing it is inherently, thekind ofthing Primitivism is: first-shock theatre that fades and with dwindles art, repeated perforthefirst at lasta bore.The attitude mances; time, intoxicating thematerial towards is necessarily thebest sensational, opportunistic; aretrouvailles, characteristic suchas (in flashes, spots Stravinskyan ofthegong-strokes orthereiterated Noces)theunearthly splendor wails ofthemother andmother-in-law, eachother, at the interrupting endofthethird scene.Primitivism canmake a perfect technical soluitcannot make first-rate art.Itsbest works arefuel, notthefire. tion, A slowtransformation in Stravinsky evenbefore Noces is begins finished. The Symphonies d'Instruments Vent bears the fruit of (1920) 'a tenyears' in music to the research, reticent, suddenly impersonal ofnegation. Itsspeech is toned down almost to inaudibility. point Thisis thefirst work sizable notconceived for thetheatre. Withthe is not but dead. killed, Mavra, Symphonies Wagnerism only "operabouffe" lookto theSoldier andto Rag(1921-2),is a lastbackward
but it too is permeated and by a procedure time; by a new sobriety thatmakesforlesseccentricity and moreline and form within the music.In theOctuor(1923) quietreally the Primitivist is reigns; orgy no longer even an echo. The musicis at once spontaneous and con-

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

58 TheMusical Quarterly

cl.
Fag.bom-

Lento

1 lt.I "

(P)
mf Pp
II I

5,,

4 9F.'-

3. L'Histoire duSoldat, Scene2 Example

mosso Meno

Piano

rit.

etc.

.,

J..

Second tableau 4. PNtrouchka, Example

thesetofwind-instruments adheres to a closebalance of tained, three movements. Cleanlicolor, paceandlinethrough impeccable nessis next to godliness. Andfor thefirst thestill small voice time, in Stravinsky is allowed to be heard a movement (the throughout - that "Theme andVariations") voicewhich for a few only appeared in L'Historie duSoldat, measures at a sudden lullin again P.trouchka. above.) (See theexamples As theOctuor is succeeded theSonate, Concerto, bythePiano theSeirnade, andOedipus the becomes Rex, path clear, everything falls into is thebuilding-up ofa chain of place.Whatis happening in the"integration" works ofthecycle. is Guesswork, phase anarchy thefoundation for a common musical for theperiod is over; language in experimentation laid.Whatwasuseful is nowjoined to the being forms. Thusthesecond oftheConcerto will traditional movement make think ofBach,Oedipus themusic ofHandel.It is notthat some wearesimply reminded that their sounds at all likeBachorHandel;

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 59 Blitzstein

for us. It is easy to seewhy there wasin still hasurgency music no wish to that the music of still say Wagner hasurgency Stravinsky for us. His pullis wholly from andin seeking a Romanticism; away he turned to theformal rather thanto the ofcontact naturally point theperiod is all rise, andfor Stravinformless then, past.Forhistory, into the world of music. The Concerto the entrance sky great theslow one. The Serinade movement, (1923-4)hasone thrilling and"Cadenza shows a new,tender Finala," (1925),in its"Hymne" itwasalways thequick, ener(In thePrimitivist Stravinsky. period in he now he is in sections which best the ferexcelled; slow, getic Rex is the achievement. It is vent ones.)Oedipus (1926-7) return to thenormal andto thetheatre. Both orchestra, Stravinsky's is theideal.There ispre-occupation aretransformed. with Equilibrium herein somber buttheother orchestral elements color, monochrome; with haveequalimportance color. There is pre-occupation with the is an but theatre and theatre-concept (Oedipus "opera-oratorio"); music areequipoised, andorchestra areliketwofaces ofthe stage samething. The static monumental ofthetheatre lends nobilaspect to the the music and does not comment or music; ity wings upon The content is noble, describe theaction. themeans profound, tragic; tells. aresimple, exact.Everything In Oedipus there areno special is most what trouvailles; important is theorganic flow from measure to measure, sceneto scene, actto two act. .... There bad the aria "Nonne Monare,however, spots: in at a the occurs second it is strum" act,yet high point silly, precious thebeginning ofCreon's solois artificial: ithasno force, music; only thescenes undermine theentire ofa subtly Together pomp. stability is hard-won. (1927)moves bigwork. Oedipus Apollon Musagete lightly, with ease.Stravinsky makes us a gift of the is no again strings-there a need to eschew or to stress instruments, longer "expressive" "musical"music. hasserenity, loftiness. Yetitshows ofdryApollon signs ness:"cleanliness" at moments to resemble theobsession of begins who must wash their sometimes the and hands; constantly people theloftiness . . . The Sacre is emptily and serenity goespretty, lofty. LesNoces, were to trance-pieces, ritual-pieces, unwitting testimony andApollon areStravinsky's to the man's abjection; Oedipus testimony ofman. dignity I said:he occupies a position in musical time theexact opposite
of,and not less important than,theposition occupiedbyBeethoven. Beethoven at a moment ofriseand integration (Classiappears sonata-form to itsheight, cism,the Sonata). He carries goesforward,

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

60 TheMusical Quarterly

andplunges music intotheRomantic breaks era,which through, ofgrandiosity, later to a down-curve unbalself-vaunting, proceeds ance,etc. at a moment offall anddeterioration (PostStravinsky appears He carries decadence to destruction, Romanticism, Impressionism). andstarts music on thebuilding ofa breaks through, goesforward, newup-curve. a revolution which StravinBeethoven It canbe saidthat began ended. sky is His temperament isphilosophic. ofStravinsky The mind in hislater a great wish tobe There is seen,especially period, pagan. he shows the moral sometimes he sometimes succeeds, only spiritual; music. is behind all therecent for it. Moral fervor effort, character, andhe has seen a this. He have remarked to No oneseems direction, hasbeenplastic and it.The actual talent towards himself haswilled has anda struggle ithasbeenrecalcitrant, butsometimes yielding; for battledePsaumes sucha pieceas theSymphonie beensetup,with ground. sensual. He is he is intellectual, In hismusic serious, of ofhimself; as extensions are not conceived works "objective"--his not the He is a the same. are course Russian; lyrical just they personal He is intensive Russian. thepainstaking rather fluent Russian, original accuand certain areas he than rather extensive; probes deeply with thelot,likeHindemith; He is notall over andexhaustiveness. racy more earlessrange, butmore he haslessinvention, imagination, the two and has He more finish; sensitiveness, qualities vigor scope. in hismusic seteachother eachother, do notpreclude notonly they ortwoworks than one more writes he He is notabundant; off. hardly so much as a pioneer; to hisfunction Thisis partly a year. owing towork from work the into and means into effort development goes be many there cannot that products. Thisis increasis hiseconomy. fact technical The outstanding elements ofit.What andin all the in all hismusic ingly present is lesslong-winded in theSacre an episode havetaken (which might comofeconomy in turn is a masterpiece deFeu,which than L'Oiseau Les in a chord is to SchihMrazade) by single epitomized pared Rimsky's the of sometimes in ora single Noces speak People pause Oedipus.
his ofcomplication, innocent ofSatie. ErikSatie was totally economy there Therefore ofnon-essentials. musicis in no sensea stripping-off is no implicit music,thereis onlywhatthereis. This makesfor the musichas layers, smallart.In Stravinsky the and charm, perfect

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc Blitzstein 61

arelarge. recent music a past.Itsdimensions context, (In themost an over-refinement.) into sometimes theeconomy degenerates is not a His interest hasalways been contrapuntist. Stravinsky of in thevertical timbre, chord-spacing. aspects music-harmony, at oncein hisworks; do notconstiA dozen they may happen things seven mixed colors make a specthan tute anymore counterpoint which to find usuis theelement trum. Stravinsky; Harmony through the a harmonic germinal ally particular perception provides impulse a work. Youcanbe interested in thekey-polychord in Pe'trouchka for in theSacre dePsaumes or in theSymphonie orin a polychord [Exx. theextraordinary evolution ofninths, elev5-7]. Or youcanprefer as tonic-againstto a point where andthirteenths, enths, they appear disclosure ofa familiar as inApollon dominant, [Ex.8]; orthequiet in a newsetting, as in theSerenade The is chord [Ex.9]. harmony is and there no atonality no consistent referable tonally, always polytonality. is theinstrumentation. Nextin importance The first stage in mastodonic used and the orchestra Rimskyan employs P.trouchka soli. theSacre; an of masses and The of flexible, aggregate system in "families" is maintained; anddoubling choirs areuseddispedals there is a special fondness oflowwoodandhigh the brass; creetly; for and are used effects for melodic mostly special strings sweeping with The second is experiment small combinations. stage passages. break instruments outofturn The "families" and up; individual appear in unexpected so do doublings; registers; pedals resounding disappear, to sharp andan unequal theold masses surface, giveway edges are raw of thick color succeeded silences cut by bythepeep splashes andthesquawk ofa violin ofan E-flat clarinet playing triple-stops ofL'Histoire duSoldat is made staccati. The ensemble-chord upofcorandbattery. In clarinet, trombone, net,violin, bassoon, double-bass, thenext which leads from theSymphonies the Octuor to stage, through the thePiano are the sound Concerto, strings dispensed entirely; with is nowpurposely orbrittle, without nuance. leaden, velvety unplastic, we comebackto thestrings Rexusesa choir Gradually again.Oedipus ofthem; there aretwoworks for soloviolin; andstrings aloneappear in Apollon, have where the of sheen a richdamask, they deepwiney nessundreamed ofin theearly of colors. The orchestraperiod gaudy It is thelatest dePsaumes is extraordinary. tionoftheSymphonie stage:
offlutes, 'cellosand basses,choirs oboes,trumpets, horns, pianos. in strata, witha new senseof Singlelinesof musicare orchestrated calculated to produce a substance at once thick, and doubling, wiry, This is also gotthrough sensitive such transparent. incredibly spacing;

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

62 TheMusical Quarterly
A

5. Petrouchka, polychord Example

vv.

6. Sacre duPrintemps, polychord Example

Chorus

etc.
.-, ,

dePsaumes, 7. Symphonie polychords Example

65 Adagio

A.?

s-

,,.-.

etc.

8. Apollon te,Pasdedeux Musag Example

J= 84

Piano
Ai

legato

etc.

9. Example

enla,Cadenza Finala Sr~.nade

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 63 Blitzstein

is thehigh-water mark a chord ofStravinsky's in experimentation color[Ex. 10].

Fl.

Ob

Chorus Tromb.

Pfti.

C.Fag.

Str. "XY
Str

dePsaumes, 3rd-movement chord 10. Symphonie Example

wasthefirst to employ an asymmetrical formula for Stravinsky before him had with accent-elision and rhythm. played Composers he madeita basis for rhythmic accent-displacement; procedure. Just as Moussorgsky be saidto haverescued so from may rhythm Wagner, hasrescued from andthePostStravinsky rhythm Impressionism In hislater music theeffect Romantics. is lessexciting, because the is more buttherhythmical is if music more sober; ingenuity anything It is especially thanin thebeginning. in theslow marked successful where onefeels a new"tread" hasbeendiscovered. For movements, he hasnever excelled this scene from interest, [Ex. rhythmic Oedipus 11]. As to melody: works theearly areusually ofRussian compounded folk-themes-a few notes andreshuffled [see characteristically clipped themelodic Ex. 12].In theclassic content hasmore breath period, andcontour; thematerial is likeBachorHandel orMozart orJ. Strauss orDelibes orGounod orTchaikovsky. do those who Why were with in thefirst content borrowed melodies at period complain in the ones later music? there is an attempt to Recently unoriginal melodies ofsome handle this sometimes method; bytheearly length as inApollon, butmore often is unsatisfactory. succeeds, is conceived in juxtaposed The early music deliberfragments, the broken method small formulas of chords, ately up; requires The ideabehind thelater notes. is organic rhythms, pieces growth. After there de la Fdeandthe aretheBaiser Apollon Musagete, theCapriccio The works, Capriccio-small entertaining, especially. is small Concerto Violon too,butit is unamusing, forced, weak, pour unreal. The Duo Concertant for violin andpiano-doesitholdup Itsfive movements arelikefive earlier works: thefirst likethe totally? de Psaumes like the second the Soldat (butbetter), Symphonie (but thethird likeApollon andso on. . . . Theseareall worse), (worse),

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

64 TheMusical Quarterly
139 Messenger cant. p

Rep - pe

re

ram

in - mo - nte

pu - e

rumOe - di - po -

da,

de - re

li

ctum

in

- mo- nte

par-vu

lum Oe - di

- po

da

1 KN

IF

1--etr-

et,

11. Oedipus Act Rex, Example II

e ,}

giusto = 50 32 Tempo
To

I I

LI

ii

', I I

L.I I[

_ rL

,,,.

.~

IY

M[ i

~-Pf

"

12. Le Sacre duPrintemps, Danses desAdolescents Example

small ButtheSymphonie dePsaumes ofscale;it is (1930)is a work fry. offaith, avowal histribute toChristian love Stravinsky's humility, andawein thesight ofGod. Yetthepieceis notChristian butpagan, ofOedipus andApollon, is onceagain reduced to thestate ofa nobility a to vile fears and frenetic exaltations. self-castigating savage, prey The lastsection is restrained andhushed, in conception. Butthe right
is pagan,as he cannothelpbutbe.6 Man, after as Stravinsky the

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 65 Blitzstein

A I Ak 6 Fd a sa 09
13. Example itgiveouta sensuous warmth instead ofa which twochords carry ofSpanish closeto thecadence one. Theyaredangerously spiritual lulls andpacifies ourmiddles, not [Ex. 13].The music guitar-music We arebackagain at trouvailles, a oursouls. word, "atmosphere"--in this is more that music lessfulsome. It is ascetic, Primitivism, except eventheearly The first curious that technical habits return. moveis constructed ofsmall The second, ment the formulas. introducing ofa double-fugue no sooner than is concluded, huge premise exposed The third is spectacle--ritual, all headandno body. orgy, procession, . . . Persiphone to eschew ritual to realize classic excitement; attempts kind of formal not anda Gluck.But,whereas balance, realism, unlike within in Pers&moved theframework ofOedipus, themusic freely it it is and also is music of minor strained, uneasy rigid; phone scope, to thedimensions ofa major intention. flashes stretched Both and are a extended the misalliance, passages they passages appear; dissipate theflashes areembedded After andgetmonotonous, andbadly setoff. a series ofpot-boilers, Airs de comes transcriptions mostly: Persiphone et Marche Suite Italienne from Divertimento Chinoise, Pulcinella, Rossignol Baiser dela Fee (all for violin Suite from andpiano);second Italienne and ('cello piano). In hislatest is betrayed music intoabstraction and Stravinsky Formalism andsuperficiality all See, for preciosity. appear. example, in therepetitions andchanges on a as rung single expressive phrase, in theslowmovement in oftheViolin or the at Concerto, Persiphone "Surce litellese repose." See thealarming increase ofonewords, motives measure continued a section, rhythmic throughout gagging off theproceedings andcutting flow oftriv[Ex. 14].See theincrease andofa trivial ofit. ial material, treatment Whathashappened to Stravinsky? His latest works show the in all hismusic. same found So itmust be painstaking craftsmanship than theway is made.I haveshown themusic that something deeper tenyears to overthrow a certain attitude towards nearly agohe sought

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

66 TheMusical Quarterly

"I ,I -V& FY'-.

f.
r'

J= 50
I j-

,
pi
-

I .
te fi an 8ce

De

ta

tie

leggiero

""+; + ' 'i" -J

Plu - ton,

J - ::#::# - -e ri de

le

roi

des

en - fers,

''----

A,

i~~~~~
-q :
Tu

'o,

fr,

eC

,..

-"?,
des

,h
1
-

-,

.,
cen

-:{...
-

I%.I_
dras vers lui

.1------.. .
Pour

I -.?ll ..

id pff

i L"I

.. etc.

ActI 14. Persiphone, Example

artandlife in himself, andto "form another attibyitsdestruction" tude. Rex thehigh ofthis effort ofwill.Is it Oedipus is still point that he hasoverestimated hiscapacity? possible Beethoven theface ofmusic the effort; changed bya superhuman effort him andvision, write gavehimnewvitality making greater music than before. alsochanged theface ofmusic; therecent works are Stravinsky forceful to haveproclaimed theinevitability oftheir direction enough

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

67 Marc Blitzstein

has that theeffort is evidence Butthere to a whole generation. diminishis of his the force that exhausted him; pieces progressively thanin as arrows, havegreater indices, they importance ing;andthat themselves. for distraction be made Can arttoday There is another thing. to a it is never Musicis ofcourse alone? "absolute"; always "pure," has musical form time. of its reflection a crysEvery great degree large economic theculture-the tallized ethnic, aesthetic, spiritual, Marx what It is a delayed itoccurred. which articulation, facts--in theaim that In Stravinsky calleda "superstructure." youcanfeel ofhis is closeto thereality oforder anda music towards discipline divorce his wish to also feel that But can even time, prophetic. you from ofan escape is symptomatic oflife streams music from other hisnew in thelossofstamina a part ithasplayed andthat reality, theBaiser The Apollon, theCapriccio, show. works dela Feeare itornot) knows to Stravinsky seeming say(whether luxury-products, existence of a the arefine; that serene, settled, they things imply contributions. areornamental to which unshakable world, they histalent andhischaracbetween thestruggle I havementioned the hisinnovations, in hisimagination, lieschiefly ter.The talent is Les The character before Noces. entire the it flashes; propels period of the transformation andthe ofwill, revealed attitude; bytheeffort thetalent LesNoces shows music after being putto usebythecharacis a in Stravinsky thetalent that be made ter.The deduction may but that the than and more character, organism complete adjusted than his more elements is made hischaracter lasting upofbetter, talent. I feel his is at issue. ofStravinsky I do notfeeltheintegrity The music has taken are. direction and strength capacity personal excessive is right. It is towards ofStravinsky because (after simplicity and individual(after eccentricity "rugged discipline complications), andthe"wilderness" (after ism"), ivory-tower oratory communicability in Stravinsky is theability to maintain the voice).Whatis at stake itsgoal.To fulfil a to extend it,to reach direction, worthily worthy itseem he canmake that The lastcompositions framework. probable be that weshallcometo valuehisclassic It may notdo this. period thecloseoftheperiod works than because itmarks lessfor individual in a cycle. We may andbecause itbegins an up-curve ofexperiment,
and fresher talents to combinethenew discipline look to younger of the day. We thatmoretruly reflects the reality withan ideology thatmakesmusican thema rebirth of the spirit mayexpectfrom

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

68 TheMusical Quarterly

ofthecultural andmolds it into new integrated community, part forms-forms that are with not from life, separated it,nor epochal it. against Notes
1. The music ofthenineteenth hada tendency to run toforms-the century preeventhelater theWagnerian musiclude, "sonata," rhapsody, symphonic poem, drama-in which themost noticeable wasthat there wasno form. Thisis the thing when thephrase "the material must theform" dictate lostitslegitimate meanperiod as hordes infor which became debased oflesser went a spineless and ing, composers anarchic "freedom." Hencetheescape into for andstructure. Hence literature, subject theretrogression to theelementary a-b-a orthenaively a-b-c-d-e-fmodel, "complex" ad inf. of the later Romanticists. Hence the shall which g-h-i-(etc. Leitmotif, )--a wherever itgoes.Henceintroductions which make form do notintroduce, interludes between which sum nowhere tobe discovered. interludes, epilogues up a content that a "sonata" is anything ofterminology so named Hence, finally, whereby collapse infact, de Schloezer canfall into hisowntrap andcall whereby, byitscomposer; a "symphony" because ithappens to be infour Pitrouchka sections, roughly quick, slow, quicker, quick. It isdifficult to seewhy should want todrag into a anyone symphony-form orwhy, itin,anyone think discussion ofa model should genre-ballet; having dragged it.Perhaps is merely theballet is thebetter for de Schloezer anxious to interpret and with whosome on themusical, value Stravinsky, years agoinsisted non-literary agree he wasat thetime indisgust thehated term ofhistheatre-works: from rebounding hislater andwasalsoprojecting towards classic himself wishfully "program-music," period. 2. It would here irrelevant-to relate theforms, be interesting andprofitable-but which and with their rise andfall, to various ofhistory preceded important aspects all musical havemade this a favorite them. Almost historians engendered partially few haveproceeded from a well-defined butvery Very recently, standpoint. pastime; alsoLebedinhasattempted notentirely Tchemodanoff this, satisfactorily; although sky. orcantabile ordimezzo or 3. Opera seria: itsalternating carrattere aria-parlante itsshowy itsweak, orstromentato; recitative-secco loose, artificialityt, infuriata-and inperformance; itsprimo itsover-interest bombastic uomo, donna, villain, texts; prima Cesti's Pomo second slaves, citizens, soldiers, menagerie. general elephants, couple, theworks. shoots d'Oro andconcert-music, both to theatre-music 4. The Music-Drama joining belonged "alltherelated inwhich toWeber's idealofa form "Choral" Beethoven's Symphony a newworld inoneanother, and. . . form meet anddisappear andutilized arts by The greatness oftheMusic-Drama their owndestruction." layin itssumming upand ofa oftheincalculably extension oftheRomantic great personality bymeans temper A slipping harmonic first itexhibited ofa deterioration. man.Musically signs single chromatidissolved at thehands ofWagner's became more foundation slow-eroding andgot, a heaving, unbroken ofthesoul" the"surge called cism. for, Rhythmically,

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Marc 69 Blitzstein A form accent. torrent-bulk without which for as depended upontheLeitmotif unity wellas for thesemblance ofarchitecture wasinevitably loose, vague, "literary." 5. First itwasfor 150people-voices andwind-instruments two against stringthen for two andpianola; in itsfinal form orchestras; harmonium, singers, cymbalums itcallsfor four solovoices, chorus andthirteen pianos, percussion-instruments. 6. Thisstatement is indirect contradiction to thecomments on theSymphonie de Psaumes within ourownhearing, thereasons he bythecomposer passed including thework. -Ed. gavefor writing

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 03:50:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions