Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934

Already noted for a book on his subject's art (The Music of Stravinsky), Stephen Walsh is equally illuminating about Igor Stravinsky's turbulent life. This first installment of a projected two-volume work covers the years 1882 to 1934, during which time Walsh shows the composer creating many of his famous works, most notably The Rite of Spring, whose riotous 1913 premiere announced the arrival of a boldly modern classical music. He follows Stravinsky from his native Russia to Switzerland and France, as well as a 10-week tour of America in 1925. Delving into Russian-language documents seldom consulted by Western scholars, Walsh corrects many factual errors and, more importantly, makes evident the importance of Stravinsky's Russian roots and musical training, which the composer himself often downplayed in later years in order to "cultivate the image of the 'synthetic' international master." He's similarly judicious in evaluating Stravinsky's stormy 20-year association with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and his seldom-adept juggling of a long-suffering wife and a more sophisticated mistress. Candid about his distaste for some of Stravinsky's behavior and character traits, Walsh never seems nasty: "It is the richest personalities," he reminds us, "who engage us most fully." --Wendy Smith