Stravinsky: The Second Exile: France and America, 1934-1971

I normally HATE this type of bio. Most composers lead pretty dull lives. If you were to make a truthful movie of one, you'd have long stretches of Our Hero scratching on a piece of paper. In other words, it's not the life itself that's interesting, but the work that life produced. Of course Stravinsky's life lacks the excitement of Rite of Spring or Oedipus Rex or Agon. I can't think of any life that measures up. But Stravinsky was a more interesting personality than most, especially in light of the music he produced and the contradictory things he said about it. Without quite uncovering the mystery of genius, Walsh nevertheless manages to keep our attention and build suspense, mostly through explicating the course of the composer's life and offering shrewd guesses into the composer's character. I happen to love almost everything Stravinsky wrote, so naturally I'm interested in the man. However, Stravinsky's family and personal relations are so tangled that I'm confident this book would appeal to those who can leave the work alone. Even so, Walsh provides valuable "bird's-eye" insights into several major scores. A fine historian, Walsh scrupulously separates fact from the notoriously wishful thinking of Craft's accounts. Of course, Craft becomes the second major player in the narrative. Walsh isn't interested in bashing Craft and in several places vigorously defends him against the charges of careerism and Svengali-ism. On the other hand, he doesn't overlook Craft's flaws. Walsh tends to see neither gods nor demons, but people. He also has the gift of tying often-mundane facts into a compelling story and of bright, elegant prose. I can't praise this book (and its predecessor) highly enough.

unless Mr. Walsh prefers 'musicologist' to 'biographer'. When I finished volume II, I immediately went and bought volume I. I rated the book 5 stars but wish I could give it 6. As a retired music librarian, I am cautious in following the hype about any new book on music/musicians/musicology that is making the rounds and more often than not, while the reviews may be accurate, regrettably, there are times they're not accurate enough. I think Mr. Walsh's two volumes are stunning. I think they are so good that once started, one wants to do nothing but sit and read them. The period and the musical life out of which Stravinsky emerged is not unknown to me and I think the deepest connection I developed with Stravinsky's music was when I played in a performance of Symphony of Psalms. Whether or not I walked away humming portions of it (which is unlikely since I cannot sing), the music has left, to use a trite phrase, an indelible mark on both my musical and cultural psyche, but so has the personality of Stravinsky himself. And Mr. Walsh does an incredibly job of making him breathe. It isn't just Stravinsky who breathes in the course of reading this book (I haven't finished Volume I) but the words and the events and the people take on a life that is far more than facts as accurate as they might be. I cannot recommend these two volumes highly enough and I only wish it was possible for Mr. Walsh to write a third.

Regardless of your opinion of his music, there is no doubt that Igor Stravinsky was one of the most significant composers of the twentieth century. I love his music and find his many changes in style fascinating. And while his big well-known masterworks (even the debate over which those are) are more widely appreciated, I also find his smaller works interesting and engaging. No matter what he did, Stravinsky created works that were among the most lively and engaging in whatever style he was using. He was fiercely independent and uncompromisingly himself. Given the course of the life he led and the multiple exiles alluded to in the subtitle, the strength he had to maintain that originality is possibly the most amazing thing about the man. This very large and very detailed biography of Stravinsky's life from 1934 until his death in 1971 is fascinating on several levels. For me, the most interesting part and the primary reason I wanted to read the book is to read in more detail the circumstances of the birth of the compositions from this half of the composer's life. Who commissioned what, how the final composition was or was not what was originally discussed, what the considerations were for the resources used, and then Stravinsky's use of serial techniques (and how that developed and how the variety of approaches he took to serialism remained Stravinsky). There is also the story of his life in Europe and then the move to the United States. The strange relationship between Stravinsky's first wife (whom he loved all his life even after she died) and his second wife, Vera, while his first wife was still alive and Vera was his mistress. Of course, this affected his relationship with his children, as did his life in Hollywood while they lived in Europe. Soulima later came to California and lived with Stravinsky for a time, but got a post on the piano faculty of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Stravinsky's family details are not simple and it is interesting how the author, Stephen Walsh, teases them out. Stravinsky never held an academic post beyond some short term lecturing and teaching of composition. He never even received an academic degree. He was a man who had to depend on himself and his music to make his way in the world. The reputation he had developed as modernist was both a source of pride and riches as well as a reason for others to attack him (from both the old and new guard). That he was strong enough to take the blows and keep composing and creating wonderful new works is a testimony of his own internal strength and of those who cared about him and supported him emotionally and in the practical day-to-day matters that allowed him time and space to compose. Of course, whenever one considers this portion of Stravinsky's life, especially his close associates, the name of Robert Craft is right at the front if a bit off center. Walsh presents a complex picture of Craft (which means it is likely close to real

Following up the wonderful first volume of his biography of Stravinsky, Cardiff University musicologist Stephen Walsh gives us a second and final volume that begins in 1934 and ends with Stravinsky's death in 1971. This takes us through the unsettled 1930s, his emigration to America and then the final years with his conversion to ultra-modern techniques. It would appear that Walsh has read and digested everything written about the composer during the times in question, and he has interviewed many people who knew and worked with him. At times the narrative is weighted down by 'and then he conducted X in Y' but his always graceful, indeed beautiful, prose makes even those laundry list sections interesting reading. There is some attention paid to the ins and outs of the works themselves but this does not pretend to be an analysis of Stravinsky's oeuvre; Walsh has already written such a book, the exceedingly valuable 'The Music of Stravinsky.' There is, of course, a good deal of mention of that most important of late Stravinsky associates, Robert Craft, who has himself written extensively about the composer. There are some disagreements with Craft's published statements, but less than one might imagine and it is done with evenhandedness and tact. Nonetheless, he indicates that Craft's personal involvement with Stravinsky led to some imprecision in his observations and assessments. For those who have read the earlier volume this is a must-have. For those who are tempted to get this volume without having read the earlier one, I'd suggest some caution. In the present volume there are many references to incidents and people whose importance is unexplained and which can only be gleaned from having first read the earlier volume, 'A Creative Spring.' But taken together these two volumes are indispensable for anyone wanting to understand Stravinsky the man. Scott Morrison