Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring

Van Den Toorn, Pieter C.

ISBN 10: 0520059581 / ISBN 13: 9780520059580

Published by University of California Press, 1987

About this Item

First edition (1987) Hardcover with dust jacket. 4to with 221 pages. The book and dust jacket are in very good condition with very slight shelf wear. Interior is clean and tight. Illustrated. Pictures available upon request. "Rare study of Stravinsky's famous ballet "Le Sacre du Printemps" (the Rite of Spring) which premiered in Paris in May 1913.significant theoretical treatment of one of the most significant compositions of the 20th century." The text is supplemented by some 90 musical examples. This came from the library of *Michael Anthony Lang was an American pianist and composer, who was recognized for his highly prolific career as a pianist on more than 2500 film scores. Lang recorded numerous albums and worked with Barbra Streisand, Vanessa Williams, Russell Watson, Michael Bolton, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon and Frank Zappa. Some of his movie and television work includes A League of Their Own, The Russia House, Arachnophobia, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Black Sunday, The Towering Inferno, The Paper Chase, The Poseidon Adventure, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The Simpsons, Family Guy, Privileged, American Dad, Orville, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Gray-green spine/White text. #033887 Size: 4to.

Seller Inventory # 033887

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520059581
• ISBN 13: 9780520059580
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Music / History

About this title

Synopsis

This is a broad, comprehensive study of Stravinsky's famous ballet. In the early chapters, van den Toorn draws on the composer's correspondence, sketches, and annotations of the original Nijinsky choreography to trace the compositional process from the initial Stravinsky-Roerich collaboration to the celebrated premiere of the ballet on 29 May, 1913. He discusses the numerous revisions that followed the completion of the score, as well as Stravinsky's changing aesthetic attitudes. In chapters 3 and 4, the author turns to The Rite's most striking feature - its explosive rhythm and timing. A central concern here is the traditional context for the music's revolutionary rhythmic practice. In the course of his discussion, van den Toorn refers to many of Stravinsky's other works. His theory of meter and rhythm is thus shown to be relevant to Stravinsky's music as a whole. The concluding chapters are devoted to The Rite's harmonic and melodic materials, as traced to Stravinsky's teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov. The text is supplemented by some 90 musical examples. Readership: musicologists and students of the music of the 20th century.

Review

"Analysis with a refereshingly humanistic bent, analysis placed in the widest sort of social context. -- Choice