MHL 603 STRAVINSKY - 2
“NEOCLASSICISM”
(F-10)
1. Review Stravinsky’s circumstances – 1914-1952
1914-1918
– Stranded by war in
1918-1924 – Russian Revolution – loses
sources of income and inspiration -
1924-1939 – Supports self via
composing and performing – diverse projects with a variety of people
(Diaghilev, Cocteau, Dushkin, Kirstein)
1939 – to
Between 1918 and 1924 Stravinsky
finished a few works on Russian themes (Mavra, 1922,
Les Noces, 1923) but was moving away from Russian
nationalism and folklore toward an aesthetic that can be characterized
(cautiously) as “neoclassical” – Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1921) was
early example of new aesthetic
2. Neoclassicism
Often applied to composers and musical
styles after WW I – e.g. Hindemith, Milhaud, Martinu,
Weill and especially Stravinsky -
Origins of term not clear - Busoni (1920) talked about “junge
Klassizität" by which he meant music that
acknowledged, assimilated and transcended masterworks of the past
Stravinsky didn’t coin this term, nor
did he apply it to himself or his music –But critics of the 1920s noted
Stravinsky’s striking change of style between 1918 and 1924 and explained it as
“neoclassicism”
Several
possible meanings of “neoclassicism”
Anti-romantic – emphasizing musical form
rather than personal expression
Referring to or reviving music of the
past (styles, forms, specific pieces)
Referring to classical antiquity (i.e.
Tonal – vs. atonal music of Schoenberg
et al. – (but “neo”-tonal)
All 4 meanings apply to Stravinsky
works
Anti-romantic – Octet, Symphonies of
Winds, Symphony of Psalms, Agon – non-lyrical, wind
sonorities, motor rhythms, plateau dynamics, short, non-narrative,
non-referential (i.e. aren’t about anything)
Neo-tonal – Serenade in A, Symphony in
C – many other (most?) works have key signatures
Referring to past styles – Octet (Sinfonia, T & V), Dumbarton Oaks Concerto (concerto grosso), Rake’s Progress (18th-century opera)
Referring to past works – Jeu de cartes (refers to
Rossini), Pulcinella (refers to “Pergolesi”)
Referring to classical antiquity –
Persephone, Apollo, Oedipus Rex, Orpheus
Stravinsky’s anti-romantic pronouncements– In conversation, interviews and writings Stravinsky made fun of the “excesses”
of 19th-century music and called for music that “expressed nothing”
– Some ideas about my Octuor (1924): “my octet is a
musical object. This object has a form and that form is influenced by the
musical matter with which it is composed.”– Chronicles of my Life (1936): “The phenomenon
of music is given to us with the sole purpose of establishing an order in
things . . . “ “[People] never seem to understand that music has an [existence]
of its own apart from anything that it may suggest to them.”
3. Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1921)
Not clear what its original purpose
was – first sketches were for harmonium
First completed section was the final
chorale, scored for piano – Stravinsky contributed it in 1920 to a memorial collection
to the memory of Debussy (d. 1918) - HANDOUT
“Symphonies” (plural) seems to refer
to the different groupings of wind instruments, which “sound together” in
various combinations over the course of the piece
Stravinsky pointed to SWI as a
decisive change in style, away from Russian materials (toward
"neoclassicism"?) – However several commentators hear SWI as an
evocation of the Russian funeral liturgy (e.g. Taruskin)
Role of chorale – It’s heard in fragments
at the beginning, more and more explicitly as piece continues – Heard in entirety
at the end
PLAY ending (7:00), then beginning HANDOUT –
Chorale is “layer B” in Cone’s analysis – Stravinsky used similar technique
later in theme and variations where piece begins with variation, and theme
isn’t heard until the end (e.g. Sonata for 2 pianos)
Confusion of editions – Stravinsky
revised in 1947 – 2 big changes: 1) rescored to eliminate alto flute and f
clarinet, makes it more practical for standard wind ensembles; 2) rebarred, mainly with smaller measures – e.g. at beginning
1921 version has 3 bars of 5/8, 1947 version alternates 2/8 and 3/8 – Posted
score is 1947 but recording is 1921 (sorry ‘bout that)
PLAY beginning again – LISTEN for
“neoclassical” features (if any)
4.
"Stratification" (Cone, 1962)
Edward Cone: "Stravinsky –
Progress of a method" (PNM 1962) – Took an audibly obvious feature of
Stravinsky's style (juxtaposition and layering) and generalized it to account
for continuities between Russian, neoclassical and 12-tone periods
Definitions
Interruption = sudden change in
texture, tonality, scoring, register
Strata = segments that share texture,
register, tune, tonality, etc. – cut off by interruption – resumes after
interruption
Interlock – Claim that strata are in
counterpoint with one another – Even though only one is heard at a time, we
anticipate their resumption – Cone calls this a counterpoint of successive time
segments
Divergence – One stratum splitting
into two – or a new stratum derived from something heard before
Synthesis – Combination of strata
toward end of piece (in chorale) – melodic material, sonorities and key all
combine
Example – PLAY beginning past RN 6 –
HANDOUT Cone – Do you hear alternation of A and B strata and new C stratum at
RN 6? – What distinguishes strata from one another?
Strata in Petrushka?
– PLAY Tableau 1 beginning around 2 minutes – Overlap rather than juxtaposition
of segments over time
Strata in Rite? – PLAY "Dance of
Adolescents" – This is closer to SWI – interruptions, but more continuity
and development
Please review for quiz
5. Orpheus (1947)
Composed for George Balanchine at New
York City Ballet – Balanchine had been
one of Diaghilev’s choreographers, and Stravinsky had worked with him on Apollo
(1928) – Balanchine and Stravinsky hooked up again in the US and collaborated
on four ballets ("Jeu de Cartes,"
"Circus Polka," Orpheus, and Agon) –
Balanchine also choreographed many pieces that Stravinsky had composed for
other occasions
Tells a story, like Petrushka, but it is a very familiar story, so the music
and dance don’t have to narrate – Instead they “represent” the story – More
abstract
Scenario - Scene one: Orpheus grieves
for Euridice, the Angel of death takes pity on
Orpheus and leads him to the underworld
Scene 2 – The furies bar Orpheus’s
path, Orpheus charms them with his song (interrupted by the tormented souls), Euridice is restored to Orpheus, he is blindfolded, O and E
are led toward earth (pas de deux), Orpheus looks
back, E disappears, O is torn to pieces by the Bacchantes
Scene 3 – Apotheosis: Apollo takes
Orpheus and his lyre to heaven
Representation of classical antiquity
costumes (Isamu Noguchi)
musical
modes – suggested, not consistent
“classical”
dance – (sorry, I don’t have video)
Emotion – Craft points out that
Stravinsky marks several passages “espressivo” a
marking he hadn’t used since Firebird – Does this contradict his neoclassical
aesthetic?
PLAY
– Orpheus’s song, - HANDOUT
Key (signature) = F minor – Why
cadence in Eb (RN 84)? (modal suggestion – note harp
at RN 77/2)
Symbolism of harp – Remember prologue
and apotheosis – Oboes represent voice, power of song
Note interplay of melodic lines and contrapuntal
succession of chords – compare SWI, contrast Rite
PLAY Interlude – Stratification ? –stratification,
contrasting harmonies – strings represent tortured souls
PLAY (if time)
6. Stravinsky’s harmonies [Not really covered in F-11]
Everyone seems to agree that
Stravinsky’s harmonies are striking – Both of his Russian period works and his
“neoclassical” works – His harmonies have been much imitated by other composers
– But there is much disagreement over how to analyze these harmonies
What are characteristics? – Examples:
Petrushka - Russian Dance – HANDOUT
parallel harmonizations
7th chords (or 2nds?)
ostinati
lack of counterpoint
SWI
– Chorale – 12/6:50 – HANDOUT
widely spaced dissonances – gradual
elimination of dissonance alteration of chord at RN 71
counterpoint of outer voices
key?
- G? d? e? C?
Orpheus
– Apotheosis – HANDOUT
Counterpoint of horns
Key?
(a minor? E phrygian, d dorian?)
– absence of cadence
List characteristics
Non-diatonic
Sense of tonal center
Pervasive dissonance
Unexpected harmonies – notes out of
place
cadences unexpected, a) on unexpected
pitches; b) by unexpected movement – Never (!) V-I
Careful voice-leading
Theoretical accounts
modified diatonic (Cone) – dissonances
can be interpreted either as added pitches or as chords of 11, 13, etc – Cone
says that each stratum has a key implication – e.g. the "A" stratum
is in some kind of G, the "B" stratum is in Eb,
the whole piece moves toward C
polytonality – either a) 2 keys
operating at same time (much criticized) or b) as superimposed chords which
retain function
octatonic – Explain! - currently fashionable (Taruskin) – similar function to Cone's
"stratification" in uniting 3 Stravinsky periods
Problem is that 'pure" octatonic passages are rare (Symphony of Psalms beginning) –
"extensions of octatonic tetrachords"
(Taruskin) - octa-diatonic
combined (van den Toorn) – Tymoczko’s
argument against: Almost any chord or scale can be called "octatonic" if you allow for omission and alteration of
notes
multiple scales – diatonic, modal, octatonic, altered minor (Tymoczko)
Explanations
applied to Russian dance
diatonic – sense of key, esp in melody
superimposed chords – function?
Is octatonic
plausible (no)
melodic minor scales
Explanations applied to SWI Chorale
sense of key? 65 vs. 71 vs. 75 –
polytonal? - superimposed
chords? function
octatonic
possibilities? – again probably not
To Apotheosis
modified diatonic?
polytonal? – probably not
octatonic
– probably not
multiple scales - maybe