Igor Strawinsky

In seinem Spätwerk wandte Strawinsky sich auch der Zwölftontechnik und dem seriellen Komponieren zu. Neben Schönberg gilt Strawinsky als der einflussreichste Komponist des 20. Jahrhunderts..

This was only weeks after the not very successful premiere of the composition in Paris on 13 or 19 May 1915 by an ensemble surrounding Darius Milhaud. Pochon's Flonzaley Quartet first performed the composition on 8 November 1915 in Chicago, a few months after the proposed meeting. On 25 January 1917, Strawinsky wrote another postcard from Morges, asking Pochon to give "all of the material (sheet music for the ensemble and parts)" to Edward Bernays, his representative in America. Strawinsky thought "that this affair had been settled for a long time" and thanks Pochon for "taking care of the numerous proofs" of his quartet. Before 1918, the sheet music for the Three Pieces for String Quartet only circulated in manuscript-form. Although Strawinsky considered dedicating the second piece to Pochon, who had originally suggested the composition to him, he ultimately decided against it. Strawinsky's connection to the journalist, press agent, and theorist Edward Bernays (1891-1995), who is considered to be the father of public relations, was previously unknown. He certainly knew Bernays through Sergei Diaghilev who had hired Bernays as a press agent for his Ballets Russes on their American tours. - The larger part of the correspondence, stretching from 1919-22, concerns the Concertino for String Quartet that was commissioned by Alfred Pochon on behalf of the Flonzaley Quartet in a letter dated 17 August 1919. On 1 September 1919, Strawinsky responded to the request, accepting an offer of 500$ for "composing something" for the quartet and the exclusive performance rights for the United States for at least 1 year or until the publication. The piece should be dedicated to the musicians of the quartet and the American banker and collector André de Coppet. Strawinsky also gives condolences for the death of Pochon's infant son and thanks him for his "interest in the difficult situation" that him and his family found themselves in, "thanks to the war and the revolution" in Russia. In a curious remark, Strawinsky stresses that he has "always considered the exchange of musical production (like any other production) for money to be an entirely natural thing", thus explaining the "somewhat 'business-like' character" of his letter. - Over four months went by until Strawinsky responded to a letter from 14 October 1919 with apologies for his "long silence" and the reaffirmation of his "promise to compose a piece [une musique]" for Pochon's "marvelous ensemble", reassuring him: "Not only do I constantly think about it but I'm also, from time to time, accumulating material, bringing to paper some things that come to me 'through the ears', 'through the fingers', through the head". What he lacked was time but he announces to work on the composition during the summer. Strawinsky then addresses a "somewhat delicate subject", asking Pochon to pay the agreed-upon sum already, given his difficult financial situation following the Russian revolution: "I'm the only support not only of my own family but also of that of my sister who came here without any means of subsistence and of relatives that are very close to me and my wife who come from Russia one after the other [...]". In a short postscript, he agrees to extend the performance rights for the composition to all countries. (Morges, 25.02.1919). - On 3 May 1920, Strawinsky announces the reception of the sum and his plans to move to Italy, first Positano and then Rome, in order to safe expenses. He also mentions his departure to Paris for the premiere of Pulcinella by the Ballets Russes at the Paris Opera and invites Ponchon to visit him in Positano, where he plans to work on the quartet. - While the plans to move to Italy never materialized, Strawinsky did start the composition in the late summer of 1920. On 16 September 1920, he wrote a postcard from Coco Chanel's villa in Garches near Paris to schedule a meeting in Paris. Strawinsky explains: "I'm living temporarily in the house of a friend who offered her villa to me until I find accommodation, which is very difficult here". In two short postscripts he adds: "My children thank you in any case for the post stamps, the craze of which has not yet ebbed for them" and, more importantly: "The composition of the quartet is in full swing [bat son plein]". - Strawinsky completed the piece on 24 September and it was first performed on 3 November 1920 by the Flonzaley Quartet in New York. Strawinsky's first letter following the premiere didn't touch upon it, rather discussing a potential publication deal with the New York based publisher G. Schirmer. It seems that Schirmer's "new proposition" didn't include the Concertino, considering Strawinsky's somewhat cryptic remark: "I expected the answer with respect to the Concertino", which is also the first time that the title Concertino appears in the correspondence. Strawinsky does, however, accept an alternative deal with the demand of three changes to the contract: "I. I will gladly compose 3 small pieces for piano but without guarantee that they will be based on 'Russian folk-lore', I cannot do such a thing on command. - II. Instead of 5 little pieces for voice and piano, I propose to him to compose the same number of small pieces for flute and piano or violin and piano or flute and violin or two violins (something that I have wanted to do for a long time). - III. For the payment (for the 10 small pieces) of a thousand dollars [...]". Although Schirmer did publish some of Strawinsky's compositions, the deal in question never materialized. The Concertino would be published in Copenhagen in the Edition Wilhelm Hansen in 1923 with the dedication to the Flonzaley Quartet. - The only undated letter of the correspondence must be dated to January 1920 as Strawinsky mentions the premiere of the Concertino and sends his New Year's Wishes to Pochon. He thanks him for an account of the premiere and newspaper clippings of reviews, expressing his joy that he will "hear it in spring in your interpretation". In closing, Strawinsky asks Pochon to bring up the deal with Schirmer that is, if he thinks that it "won't ruin the affair". - The final letter, written from Biarritz on 9 February 1922, concerns a European tour of the Flonzaley Quartet with the Concertino. Strawinsky thanks Pochon for more clippings and expresses his regret to have missed a concert in Paris in autumn that people "have later talked about with a lot of enthusiasm". He answers a question concerning tonality: "I use the F natural ([natural sign]) in the 4th beat in the bar before no. 22 - it is indeed an F natural ([natural sign]) in the 1st and 2nd violin that I forgot to mark with a ([natural sign]) and announces to send a copy of his Three Pieces for String Quartet to Pochon. In closing, he asks his correspondent an interesting favor: "When you come to Paris, could you bring me the sheet music for orchestra of my ballet 'L'Oiseau de feu' (the only printed sheet music that exists outside of Russia). This sheet music is with Mrs. Marie Brooks [...], New York. I wrote to this Madam [...] and never got a response. If it doesn't inconvenience you too much, you would do me an immense favor!"..

In a letter from 23 July 1933 Suvchinsky wrote to thank Stravinsky: "Your promise [of the part in "Perséphone"] is the first gift that I have received in Paris" (Levitz, p. 321). Nevertheless, the role was created by René Maison at the premiere at the Paris Opera on 30 April 1934. - "Perséphone" was a collaboration between Igor Stravinsky and the Nobel laureate André Gide. The famous dancer Ida Rubinstein had initiated the project in 1933 and later danced the lead role. For the libretto Gide revised a sketch from 1912, but the collaboration proved difficult, as Stravinsky took liberties in adapting the text to his musical vision. Ahead of the premiere, Gide distanced himself from the project, as he was dissatisfied with Jacques Copeau's staging and Kurt Jooss's choreography. Only much later did Gide acknowledge the quality of Stravinsky's composition. - Well preserved..