Stravinsky S Piano

An unprecedented exploration of Stravinsky's use of the piano as the genesis of all his music - Russian, neoclassical and serial.

A collection of piano solos composed by Igor Stravinsky.

This study asserts that Stravinsky's Octour pour instruments a vents (1923) is pivotal within Stravinsky's progressions in regard to orchestrational practice, instrumental choices, and compositional choices, and presents it as the point in which all of these transitions came together for the first time. After an opening discussion of Stravinsky's early life and compositional career, it concentrates on setting up the Octet and Concerto through discussion of the years leading up to their composition. In addition to placing the two works within their context of their position and broader influence upon Stravinsky's surrounding production, it provides a full musical analysis of the Octet, followed by comparative analysis between it and the Concerto. The analysis is predominantly centered around compositional practices and orchestrational techniques.

Fascinating critical and biographical portrait of famed 20th-century composer includes commentary on the evolution of such masterworks as The Firebird, Petrouchka, Le Sacre du Printemps, Pulcinella, and Histoire du Soldat.