Violin works of Igor Stravinsky

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 VIOLIN WORKS OF IGOR STRAVINSKY

by

Karen A. White

A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1 9 8 1
 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

I hereby recommend that this document prepared

under my direction by Karen A. White

entitled Violin Works of Igor Stravinsky

be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts.

Cin4 e
Sianature of Major Professor
Ad 22 /78/
2
Date

Acceptance for the School of music:

Director, Graduate Studies in Music

Date
a8, Ifs!
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pacte

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS iv

INTRODUCTION v

CHAPTER
1. BIOGRAPHY 1

2. VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D 7

3. DIJO CONCERTANT 16

4. SUITE ITALIENNE AND DIVERT'IMENTO 25

5. SHORT CONCERT PIECES 32

6. EPILOGUE 34

APPENDIX
VIOLIN WORKS AND CURRENT PUBLISHERS 35

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 37

iii
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures Page

1. Violin Concerto in D, Definitive

Chord . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2. Opening Measures of Movements of

Concerto in D . . . . . . . 12

a. Toccata, measures 1 and 2

b. Aria I, measures 1 and 2
c. Aria II, measure 1
d. Capriccio, measure 1

3. Concerto in D, Aria II, measures 80 -82 . 14

4. Duo Concertant, Cantilène, measures 2 -4 . 19

5. Duo Concertant, Cantilène, measures 15 -20 . 19

6. Duo Concertant, Eclogue I, measure 5 . . 20

7. Duo Concertant, Eclogue I, measures 6 -9 . 20

8. Duo Concertant, Gigue, measures 21 -24 . 21

9. Duo Concertant, Dithyrambe, measure 8 . . 23

10. Suite for violin and piano, after themes,

fragments and pieces by Giambattista
Pergolesi, (1925), Serenata, measures
1 -6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

11. Suite Italienne, (Dushkin- Stravinsky),

Serenata, measures 1 -6 . . . . . 28

iv
 I'?TRODUCTION

The violin works of Igor Stravinsky form an inte-

gral and vital part of the contemporary violin reper-

toire. The violin works fall into two categories:

original compositions and transcriptions of previous

compositions. Included in these transcriptions are

orchestral suites and selections from ballet and opera.
Many similarities can be noted among the composi-

tions of this genre. The majority were composed or

transcribed during a fifteen year period of Stravinsky's

career and they exhibit a particular style of composi-

tion utilized by Stravinsky at that time. These violin

works also generate from an amiable association between

Stravinsky and a young violin virtuoso, Samuel Dushkin.

During this time, Stravinsky was changing the focus

of his career from that of being primarily a composer,

to composer, conductor and performer. This necessitated

compositions which Stravinsky could perform on tours

with Dushkin.
This study will be primarily concerned with

Stravinsky's compositions for violin written during

v
 vi

the years 1931 to 1935. In order to put these composi-

tions in perspective, it is beneficial to investigate

earlier events in Stravinsky's life.

 CHAPTER I

BIOGRAPHY

Igor Stravinsky, born June 5, 1882 in Oranienbaun,

Russia, was one of four sons of the famous singer Feodor

Ignatievich Stravinsky. His father was a soloist with

the Kiev Opera and later moved the family to St. Peters-

burg to star in the opera there.

Although Stravinsky did not have a close personal

relationship with his father, his musical interests
were influenced by proximity to the opera and theater

during rehearsals and performances.

Stravinsky's parents refused to consider a musical

career for him, so Stravinsky studied law and philosophy.

However, his musical aptitude was too strong and he

eventually pursued a musical career studying orchestra-

tion with Rimsky -Korsakov. Stravinsky became a close
friend of the Rimsky -Korsakov family and worked with

the master orchestrator for three years. Stravinsky

was greatly affected by the death of Rimsky -Korsakov
in 1908.

Shortly after, Stravinsky was approached by Serge

Diaghilev to move to Paris and collaborate in a

1
 2

presentation of Russian artists, performers, and works

of Russian composers there. Diaghilev commissioned
Stravinsky to write a ballet score based on the Russian
fairy tale, The Firebird. The ballet was a great

success and Diaghilev commissioned a second ballet

score for his company. Petrushka also proved immensely
popular with the public and critics. Stravinsky was
proud of these successes and his own developing style.
"He found that he liked the sound
of his music. While the score of The
Firebird had merely been an attempt - and
a very successful one at that - to out-
shine Rimsky -Korsakov at his own game of
colorful instrumentation, Petrushka was
the first score to reveal Stravinsky's
idiosyncratic way of handling an orches-
tra."'
Elated with these triumphs, Stravinsky returned to
an earlier idea basing a work on pagan rituals to the

god of spring. The Russian Ballet premiered the Rite

of Spring in 1913 with choreography by Nijinsky. It

was met with turbulent reactions.

"Shortly after the orchestral intro-

duction had started, mild protests against
the music could be heard from part of the
audience. The expressions of indignation
were renewed when the curtain rose on the

'Eric Walter White, Stravinsky: The Composer and

His Works, (Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1966),
p. 19.
 3

dancers and the uproar redoubled as another

section of the audience started to retaliate
against the demonstrators by appealing
for order. .scarcely a note of music could
be heard. "'

Subsequent performances were not met with this

type of public outcry, though the press was divided in

its opinion. Today, we cannot deny that Rite of Spring

was a revolutionary work in regard to the treatment

of meter and harmony.

Although he composed one opera, The Nightingale,

Stravinsky's major output during the years 1909 -1914
was associated with Diaghilev and the Russian Ballet.
During World War I, Stravinsky established his
family in Switzerland and began composing works of dif-
ferent dimension. The Wedding, a cantata depicting a

Ukranian village celebration, is indicative of many

works of this period relating to images of Russia.
Other works include Reynard, Three Tales for Children
and Four Russian Peasant Songs. At this time Stravinsky
made his debut conducting The Firebird in Geneva and
Paris.

Lack of money for large scale productions and

wartime hindrances led Stravinsky to consider writing

2E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 26.

 4

a theatrical work of practical proportions. With author,

C. F. Ramuz, and conductor, Eugene Ansermet, Stravinsky
envisioned a musical work requiring few players and
simple scenery which could be toured. Backing was
acquired and the libretto and score of The Soldier's
Tale were completed in 1918.

The scoring of The Soldier's Tale emphasized an

unusual instrumentation: violin, double bass, cornet,

trombone, clarinet, bassoon and percussion. By se-
lecting the treble and bass members of the different
instrumental families, Stravinsky was capable of dis-
playing the character and timbre of the limited number
of instruments. The players function not only as

seven soloists but as a miniature orchestra. Great

symbolism is placed on the Soldier's fiddle in the
story which correlates with the importance of the violin
in the ensemble. The solo writing for violin in this
work is the most virtuoso in Stravinsky's works to
this date.

In 1919, Diaghilev again approached Stravinsky

with an idea to utilize the music of the eighteenth
century composer, Pergolesi,for a ballet based on
the Pulcinella story of Italian commedia dell'arte.

Stravinsky initially demurred. Undaunted, Diaghilev

 5

presented Stravinsky with Pergolesi scores he had

collected. Diaghilev further attracted Stravinsky
by hiring his friends, Picasso and Massine, the former
to create costumes and scenery for the production and

the latter to choreograph.

Pulcinella was to begin the neo- classic period

of Stravinsky's career. Not only did Stravinsky elect
to utilize the Pergolesi themes but also chose to write

in the eighteenth century style. He recalls:

"...it was a delicate task to breathe

new life into scattered fragments and to
create a whole from the isolated paces
of a musician for whom I felt a special
liking and tenderness. "3
Stravinsky retained melodic and bass lines from the
original Pergolesi works, but created a new harmonic
and rhythmic treatment and utilized an instrumentation

which was uniquely his own. Stravinsky discusses

Pulcinella as his entrance to neo- classicism.
"Pulcinella was my discovery of the
past, the epiphany through which the
whole of my late work became possible.
It was a backward look, of course - the
first of many love affairs in that dir-
ection - but it was a look in the mirror,
too. No critic understood this at the
time, and I was therefore attacked for

31gor Stravinsky, An Autobiography, (New York:

Simon and Schuster, 1936), p. 127.
 6

being a pasticheur, chided for composing

'simple' music, blamed for deserting
'modernism', accused of renouncing my
'true Russian heritage'. "4

Many works which followed Pulcinella exhibited

neo- classic influences. Among these are the Octet,
Concerto for Piano and Wind. Instruments, the Capriccio,
Oedipus Rex and Apollo Musagete. Another ballet, The
Fairy's Kiss was commissioned to commemorate the thirty -
fifth anniversary of Tchaikovsky's death. The Fairy's
Kiss took form from the plot of the Hans Christian
Anderson fairy tale, The Ice Maiden. Stravinsky greatly
admired Tchaikovsky and assimilated his melodies into
a nostalgic lyrical work.
Both Pulcinella and The Fairy's Kiss were recast

as orchestral suites and will be discussed later in

the context of violin and piano transcriptions.

In the years between the two world wars, the royal-

ties from compositions proved insufficient to support

his family. His largest commissions could not compare

to fees received for concert appearances. Stravinsky
began to accept more engagements as a conductor and
pianist and thus found a practical means of enlarging
his income.

4lgor Stravinsky, Expositions and Developments,

(Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1962), p. 128 -129.
 CHAPTER II
VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D

The impetus for the composition of the Violin

Concerto in D is largely credited to Willy Strecker,

a close friend of Stravinsky and director of Schott

publishing in Mainz, Germany. In 1931 Strecker intro-

duced Stravinsky to a young violin virtuoso, Samuel

Dushkin. Dushkin, the adopted son of American composer
Blair Fairchild, was trained in the violin tradition
of the great pedogogue, Leopold Auer. Though Strecker
produced a commission for the concerto, Stravinsky
was reluctant to write for the violin.

"I was afraid that my slight know-

ledge of the instrument would not be
sufficient to enable me to solve the
many problems which would necessarily
arise in the course of a major work
specially composed for it. But Willy
Strecker allayed my doubts by assuring
me that Dushkin would place himself en-
tirely at my disposal in order to fur-
nish any technical details I might re-
quire. Under such conditions the plan
was very alluring, particularly as it
would give me a chance of studying ser-
iously the special technique of the
violin. "5

5lgor Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 260.

7
 8

Stravinsky had written for the violin in the con-

text of his orchestral works, a string quartet and vir-
tuoso violin passages in The Soldier's Tale. Yet, as
enticing as the project seemed, Stravinsky still had
doubts as to his ability to compose for the violin in

a solo concerto.

"To know the technical possibilities

of an instrument without being able to
play it is one thing; to have that tech-
nique in one's finger tips is quite
another. I realized the difference and
before beginning the work I consulted
Hindemith, who is a perfect violinist.
I asked whether the fact that I didn't
play the violin would make itself felt
in my composition. "6

Hindemith reassured Stravinsky and asserted that

the composition would benefit from Stravinsky's approach

as it would "avoid a routine technique and would give

rise to ideas which would not be suggested by the

familiar movement of the fingers ".7

Initially, Stravinsky was wary of the idea of working
with a violin virtuoso, feeling the demands of a solo
career and public acclaim color the taste of performing
artists.

6I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 264 -265.

7I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 265.
 9

"How many admirable compositions...

are set aside because they do not offer
the player opportunity of shining with
facile brilliancy. Unfortunately, they
(the virtuosi) often cannot help them-
selves, fearing the competition of rivals
and to be frank, the loss of their bread
and butter. "8

Samuel Dushkin proved the exception to these

statements and a deep respect and friendship developed
between Dushkin and Stravinsky. Stravinsky recalls,
"I was glad to find in him, (Dushkin) besides his re-
markable gifts as a born violinist, a musical culture,
a delicate understanding and in the exercise of his
profession,an abnegation that is very rare ".9
Many composers have relied on the assistance and
counsel of violin virtuosi. Ferdinand David, Joseph
Joachim, Leopold Auer and Eugene Ysaye all had direct
influence on their contemporaries. However, as with
Dushkin, their influences were as instigator and ad-
visor not restricting the original concepts of the
composer.

The reverse influence of composer on performer,

is noted by violinist, Joseph Silverstein.

81. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 260 -261.

9I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, P. 261.
 10

"To me the greatest advances in

violin technique have been caused by
the composer who refused to be inhibited
by the limitations of contemporary violin
playing...the composers are solving pro-
blems musically and the violin will adapt
itself to the musical objective.
While collaborating on the violin concerto, Dushkin
observed a disregard for "violinistic" considerations
in Stravinsky's work. Stravinsky wrote the chord shown
below and asked Dushkin if it could be played.

Figure 1. Violin Concerto in D, Definitive Chord.

Dushkin replied that he had never seen a chord with

such an enormous stretch and did not think it could be

used. After experimenting on his violin, Dushkin dis-

covered that the interval was in such a high register
of the instrument that it could be executed. This

10Joseph Silverstein, "Violinists- Innovators,

Collaborators or Instigators ". American String Teacher,
(Vol. XXV, No. 4), p. 13.
 11

chord became important to the structure of the concerto

as it begins each movement of the work.

The collaboration continued with Stravinsky showing

the work to Dushkin and discussing suggestions Dushkin

made. Dushkin recalls:

"Whenever he accepted one of my
suggestions, even a simple change, such
as extending the range of the violin by
stretching the phrase of the octave be-
low and the octave above, Stravinsky
would insist on altering the very founda-
tions correspondingly. He behaved like
an architect who if asked to change a
room on the third floor had to go down
to the foundations to keep the ropor-
tions of the whole structure. "1

Rejecting the traditional three movement concerto

form, Stravinsky organized the work in four movements:

Toccata, Aria I, Aria II and Capriccio. All movements

begin with the chord mentioned previously - termed
by Stravinsky as the "passport" to the concerto.
(Figure 2)

11E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 330.

 12

a. Toccata, b.
..
_. _.--
_..__:,_
.r1=1, _ VW=
74M,,,_
MIR

Aria I,
Mr_
W

measures 1 and 2. measures 1 and 2.

c. Aria II, d. Capriccio,

measure 1. measure 1.

Figure 2. Opening measures of Movements of

Concerto in D.

The first and last movements are characterized by

a driving rhythmic structure and an interchange of
melodic material between violin and orchestra. Stravin-
sky utilized a full orchestra, yet skillfully handled

the balance between soloist and ensemble. "There are

numerous passages where the soloist is accompanied
by a handful of instrumentalists...Stravinsky shows
 13

consummate skill in constructing a score that combines

the spacious properties of a concerto with the inti-

mate qualities of a chamber music ensemble. "12

In both the first and last movements, Stravinsky
utilizes ostinato figures to accompany the violin and
features various instruments of the orchestra in vir-
tuoso passage work.
The technical (sometimes termed 'unviolinistic')
problems presented to the performer cannot be allowed
to interfere with or influence the interpretation of
this work. Stravinsky employs many special effects
(harmonics, piz zicati , double stops and chords) to
expand a musical idea, not as unique devices. For
successful performance the artist must transcend the
physical problems of execution and transmit to the
audience the vibrant, emotive qualities of melodic
line.

The two middle movements provide interesting

contrasts. Aria I is characterized by a languid theme

encompassing the extremes of the violin range. The
movement is interrupted by a short scherzo -like inter-
lude, then returns to the slower opening theme.

12Eric Walter White, Stravinsky: A Critical

Survey, (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1948),
p. 142.
 14

Musicologists have noted a harkening to J. S. Bach

in regard to these two Arias. Although there are no
actual borrowings, Aria II utilizes an accompanying
figure similar to those used in Bach slow movements.
(Figure 3)

Figure 3. Concerto in D, Aria II, measures

80-82.

The second Aria is more restricted in regard to

range and makes an eloquent melodic statement. The

title, Aria, is indicative of the emotive song quality
inherent in both movements.
"Emotion is not lacking in Stra-
vinsky's music, in spite of his own
pronouncements on the subject...he has
achieved expression, not in the intensely
 15

individualistic manner insisted on by

nineteenth century aesthetics, but
through the medium of ritual, which
liberates emotion from the narrowly per-
sonal sphere and translates it into the
public, the universal realm. "13
The premiere of the Violin Concerto took place in

October of 1931 with Dushkin as soloist and Stravinsky

conducting the Berlin Radio Orchestra. The concerto
was well received by the public despite the orchestra's
bad playing (noted in a review by Hindemith). Dushkin
retained sole performance rights for two years.
In 1941, the score was used by George Balanchine

as the basis for his ballet, Balustrade. Stravinsky

observed Balanchine choreographing the work and later
"judged the result to be one of the most satisfactory
visualisations of any of his works ".14

13Bernard Jacobsen, jacket notes for Stravinsky,

Concerto in D, (Philips PHS 900 -194) .

14E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 333.

 CHAPTER III
DUO CONCERTANT

The completion of the violin concerto in 1931 did

not end the collaboration of Samuel Dushkin and Igor
Stravinsky. Stravinsky wished to increase exposure
of his music through chamber music concerts. His next
work, the Duo Concertant, was to be the nucleus of
programs he and Samuel Dushkin would perform on Euro-
pean tours. Prior to this time, Stravinsky had avoided
writing for the combination of piano and string in-
struments.
"In order to be able to accept this
combination of instruments, I felt I had
to use the smallest possible grouping,
i.e., as two solo instruments, so as to
find a way of solving the instrumental
and acoustical problems arising from
the alliance of the two different types
of strings.
The inspiration for the Duo Concertant came from
a recently published work, Petrarch by Charles Albert
Cingria. Stravinsky felt that his friend, Cingria,
had rare insights in this work which paralleled many
of his own thoughts.

15E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 333.

16
 17

"...though we were now living far

apart and seldom saw each other, the
close agreement between our views, our
tastes, and our ideas, which I had noticed
when we met twenty years before, not
only still existed, but seemed even to
have grown with the passing years.
In his autobiography, Stravinsky quotes Cingria.
"Lyricism cannot exist without
rules, and it is essential that they
should be strict. Otherwise, there
is only faculty for lyricism, and that
exists everywhere. What does not exist
everywhere is lyrical expression and
composition. To achieve that, appren-
ticeship to a trade is necessary. "17
Stravinsky made many statements as to the necessity
for control and craftsmanship to achieve artistic free-

dom. He develops this idea in a description of his

admiration of classical ballet.

"In classical dancing, I see the
triumph of studied conception over vague-
ness, of the rule over the arbitrary,
of order over the haphazard. I am thus
brought face to face with the eternal
conflict in art between the Apollonian
and Dionysian principles. The latter
assumes ecstasy to be the final goal -
that is to say, the losing of oneself -
whereas art demands above all the full
consciousness of the artist...it is not
simply a matter of taste on my part,

161, Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 267.

l7I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 268.
 18

but because I see it (ballet) the per-

fect expression of the Apollonian prin-
ciple."18
In reference to the Duo Concertant, Stravinsky
declared his interest to produce a lyrical composition,
"a work of musical versification and I was more than
ever experiencing the advantage of a rigorous discipline
which gives a taste for the craft and the satisfaction
of being able to apply it - and more particularly in
work of a lyrical character ".19
The Duo. Concertant is the only work of Stravinsky
which might be considered a sonata for violin and
piano. The work is separated into five movements:
Cantilène, Eclogue I, Eclogue II, Gigue and Dithyrambe.
Stravinsky stated that the theme he envisioned "de-
veloped throughout the five movements of the piece
which formed an integral whole ".20
The Cantilène uses two contrasting motives; one,
arpeggiated chords (Figure 4) and the other, an ex-
pansive theme expressed in double stops on the violin
(Figure 5) . The arpeggiated motive is first intro-
duced by the violin while the piano plays tremalo

18I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 156.

19I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, p. 268.
20E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 334.
 19

unisons. In the middle section of this movement, the

piano takes over this motive while the violin intro-

duces the chordal theme.

Figure 4. Duo Concertant, Can tiléne, measures

2 -4.

Figure 5. Duo Concertant, Cantiléne, measures

15 -20.

An eclogue is defined as an idyllic conversation

between shepherds. Eclogue I exemplifies this dialogue

by eliminating bar lines in the first half of the
movement encouraging a free flow of conversation
 20

between violin and piano. The piano plays continuous

sixteenth notes while the violin outlines a simple

tune over a drone. (Figure 6) This tune is interrupted

occasionally for the violin to join the piano in run-

ning sixteenths.

-
fr r r. r rr r r

Figure 6. Duo Concertant, Fcloaue I, measure 5.

The violin sets the character of the last half

of the movement with a double stop passage simmilar

to the jaunty fiddler's tune in The Soldier's Tale.

(Figure 7)

0.
1Milf1
...11/
.Alli: i1
AM. MINN, MIMI
n nn n n
MNMlINISIN/'71 L i.nnn nn
lft.-. 11=111M111
n
fMININ INi,/1111111111111,11rMINOMrs.11
y

IIMIN1.`.111111111,
nn
-'f1'......
au talon
n
wee
f.lM=W111111111111111
1.11401416.1111M.AN.MI,

Figure 7. Duo Concertant, Ecloaue I, measures

6 -9.
 21

This section of the Eclogue also features constantly

shifting meter randomly moving from 4
to 8
to 4.

Stravinsky gives equal treatment to the violin

and piano in Eclogue II. The melodic lines are inter-

twined and bound together in conversation.

The Gigue is less restrained than other movements
of the Duo Concertant and is reminiscent of the earthy

Tarantella of Pulcinella. The movement rollicks along

in 16 meter and features a percussive motive enhanced

with left hand pizzicato of the violin. (Figure 8)

M
v._M . rrMr
M .M M/f
".A.M. M
1

1
pizi.
-=MM
arco
+ p
M._,-1=.I=N.-
_M -.M-_M
1. 7
MM
M
a .r
-IM>_t
- M 'M

Figure 8. Duo Concertant, Gigue, measures 21 -24.

The sprightly dance is in rondo form with one

contrasting episode in and another in 16 meter.

4

The concluding Dithyrambe is considered to be

the most substantial movement of the Duo Concertant.

The piano is given elaborate passagework in four -part

counterpoint while the violin has a lyrical, highly
 22

ornamental melody. "The swirls and undulations of

motion make the progress toward the hich pitched,

fortissimo climax the more intense: truly impassioned

as befits a hymn to Dionysus."21

Again, Stravinsky suspends bar lines and adapts

the sixteenth note beat. In Conversations with Igor

Stravinsky, Robert Craft asked the composer why con-

temporary composers tended to use smaller note values
for the beat, citing the Dithyrambe of the Duo Con-

certant (Figure 9) as an example. Stravinsky replied,

"Contemporary music has created a

much greater ranee and variety of tempi
and a vastly greater rhythmic ranee,
therefore the greater range and variety
of rhythmic unit.

As a composer I associate a certain

kind of music, a certain tempo of music
with a certain kind of note unit. I
compose directly that way. There is no
act of selection or translation, and the
unit of the note and tempo appear in my
imacrination at the same time as the in-
terval itself. Only rarely, too have
I found that my original beat has led
me into notation difficulties. The
Dithyrambe of the Duo Concertant, how-
ever, is one such example. "22

21Abram Loft, Violin and Keyboard, Volume II,

(New York: Grossmand, 1973), p. 261.
221gor Stravinsky and Robert Craft, Conversations
With Stravinsky, (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co.,
1959), p. 19.
 23

crest. o a poco

Figure 9. Duo Concertant, Dithyrambe, measure 8.

Craft continues his questioning by asking if

Stravinsky believed the size of note had relation to
the character of the music. Stravinsky's response
reflected his characteristic aplomb.
"I do believe in a relation between
the character of my music and the kind of
note unit of the pulsation and I do not
care that this may be undemonstrable.-
it is demonstrable on the composer's
side simply because I think that way. "23
The premier of Duo Concertant came in October,
1932 with Dushkin as violinist and Stravinsky at the
piano. Years later, during the Norton lecture series
at Harvard, Stravinsky continued to expound on the
Apollonian principle which had influenced him in the
composition of the Duo Concertant.

23I, Stravinsky and R. Craft, Conversations,

p. 20.
 24

"Imagination is not only the mother

of caprice but the servant and handmaiden
of the creative will as well. The creator's
function is to sift the elements he re-
ceives from her, for human activity must
impose limits upon itself. The more art
is controlled, limited, worked over, the
more it is free. "24

24Igor Stravinsky, Poetics of Music, Trans. by

Alfred Knodel and Ingolf Dahl, (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1970), p.85.
 CHAPTER Iv
SUITE ITALIENNE AND DIVERTIMENTO

The two works discussed in this chapter are trans-

criptions made by Stravinsky himself of orchestral
suites which generated from ballets. In turn, each

ballet owes its themes and style to an earlier com-

poser. Stravinsky respected the music of earlier
times and did not feel it desecration to incorporate
the melodies and techniques of other composers within
his own writing.
"I am only too familiar with the
mentality of those curators and archi-
vists of music who jealously guard the
intangibility of relics at which they
never so muchas look, while resenting
any attempt on the part of others to
resuscitate these treasurers which they
themselves regard as dead and sacro-
sanct."25
As previously discussed, Stravinsky utilized the

melodies of Pergolesi in a ballet and later in a suite

entitled Pulcinella. The suite would evolve into the

Suite Italienne (1933) for violin and piano. However

25I. Stravinsky, Autobiography, n. 128 -129.

25
 26

movements from the concert suite also appeared in an

earlier version, Suite for violin and piano, after
themes, fragments and pieces by Giambattista Pergolesi

in 1925 and a cello transcription in 1932. Transcrip-

tions generate from the Pulcinella Suite, consisting

of eleven movements from the original ballet.

Stravinsky adopted the concertant style of hand-

ling the orchestra and used unique instrumentation to

obtain textures which would underscore the witty plot

of the ballet. The ability to restructure the work

for string solo and piano reveals Stravinsky's genius,

as the freshness and spirit of the original score is

retained.

The 1925 Suite, dedicated to Paul Kochanski,

includes the Introduction, Serenata, Tarantella,

gavotte con variazioni and Minnetto et Finale from

the Pulcinella Suite. The piano and violin are treated

in equal fashion. This version, edited by Albert

Spalding, is currently out of print and was made

available by Doris B. Hansen, professor of violin
at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The collaboration of Samuel Pushkin is apparent

in the Suite Italienne of 1933. The origin of this

version is the five movements from the earlier violin

 27

suite, but a Scherzino from the ballet is also included.

The violin assumes a more dominant, soloistic role

in this edition and the use of harmonics, pizzicato

and special bowing effects found in the 1925 suite is

lessened..

To illustrate the differences in editions, corres-

ponding phrases from the Serenata are shown. In the

first example, 1925 Suite, the piano plays the melody

of the sicilienne while the violin accompanies. (Figure

10) In the Dushkin -Stravinsky edition, the violin

takes prominence, playing the melody throughout the

movement. (Figure 11)

That a work could survive this many transformations

is amazing, but Stravinsky commonly revised his works
for use in different musical idioms.
 28

M
Ir. -a
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Larghetto
id

- T-
P ---_.'
Larghetto

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----:

sommi

...Ç'
=
'
-S
\---`
o0T7Á
.
ISmr1r
I
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ro` .: _
I
-
t;: .
-

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IT "
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===

T
wiD

Figure 10. Suite for violin and piano, after

themes, fragments and pieces by
(;iambattista Peraolesi, (1925) ,

Serenata, measures 1 -6.

1 1
1111r41111M
'WU:AMI/ II=
711
aEW- /IBM= IIII7M IJ
LIE ,
M Y M. a=111I=!Q
moorANN`= /r
Ail r7 --MOmwsr--
.111=0.rY
/mum cAmm/ WM .M11 I..=
mum=
á=mr MN.

t
I
V.

I=
i
P.M7P
a.... A I
I .I 1PNIN
1 ../ l 1-=MM..KM> J1I AM. MEOW
IMIIIMINa UNMOOR

Figure 11. Suite Italienne, (Dushkin -Stravinsky),

Serenata, measure 1 -6.
 29

Before starting Pulcinella, Stravinsky was a

stranger to the works of Pergolesi. However, he was

intimate with the music of Tchaikovsky which was to be
the basis for the ballet, The Fairy's Kiss. Stravinsky
had orchestrated two numbers of Sleeping Beauty for a
London revival and championed compositions of Tchaikovsky
at a time when those works were undervalued in Europe.

As Stravinsky assimilated the music of Tchaikovsky

into his ballet score, he found himself able to continue

original writing in the same vein. "The result was

that although the major part of the score...consists

of authentic borrowings, there are also numerous pas-

sages and fragments of his own invention. "26

The ballet, produced in 1928 was not tremendously

successful, but music was extracted from The Fairy's
Kiss to form a suite. The suite, called Divertimento,

is comprised of four parts corresponding to the four

parts of the ballet. The transcription for violin

and piano was made by Dushkin and Stravinsky in 1932.

The Divertimento is a nostalgic work, a tribute

to Tchaikovsky as well as Stravinsky's Russian heritage,

"not the atavistic heritage of folk melos which he

26E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 310.

 30

had so fruitfully explored already, but that of Russian

nineteenth century art music ".27
A major difference between the composition of

the Suite Italienne and the composition of the

Divertimento can be found in the treatment of melodic

material. In the Suite Italienne, the Peroolesi melo-

dies were used in entirety. By contrast, the Tchaikovsky

motives used in the Divertimento are fragmented and

combined with original motives of Stravinsky.
"The essential feature of this
type of music is that it is based either
partly or wholly on already existing
musical patterns. This does not imply
...that the works are necessarily
pastiches or hybrid in style. Tt is
perfectly feasible for musical forms
invented by composers of the past to
be completely transformed by contact
with the taste and sensibility of an
artist of a later age as to acquire
new meaning and result in genuinely
original works. "28
The Divertimento and Suite Italienne came into

the violin repertoire as a result of Stravinsky's desire

to have his music heard in recital. Both audience and

27Fric Walter White and Jeremy White, "Ivor Stra-

vinsky". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,
Vol. 18. Ed. Stanley Sadie, (London: Macmillan Pub-
lishers, 1980), p. 253.
28Roman Vlad, Stravinsky, Trans. by F. Fuller,
(London: Oxford University Press, 1978), p. 77.
 31

performer have benefitted from the transcription of

these works.
 CHAPTER V
SHORT CONCERT PIECES

Dushkin and Stravinsky collaborated further on

transcriptions of other Stravinsky works. They sought

selections to complete programs for the European tours

they were undertaking as performers. These transcrip-
tions included the 'Scherzo' and 'Berceuse' from The

Firebird, 'Russian Dance' from Petroushka and 'Chinese

March' and 'Nightingale's Song' from the opera The

Nightingale.
Dushkin's role in the collaboration was to select
the appropriate violin line from the original score to

which Stravinsky added the piano voices "...which fre-

quently resulted in something widely different from
the original composition ".29

The trio version (violin, clarinet and piano) of

The Soldier's Tale was also included in the Dushkin-

Stravinsky performances. The post war years showed

marked acceptance of these transcriptions, the

29E. W. White, Stravinsky: The Composer, p. 82.

32
 33

Divertimento and Suite Italienne into the repertoire

of concert artists.

"All these new versions...are in no sense docile,

ready -made arrangements for another purpose, but

rather pieces which have been thought out and written

a second time for a new use. "30

30Frank Onnen, Stravinsky, (Stockholm: Continental

Book Co., 1948), p. 33.
 CHARTER VI
EPILOGUE

As World War II became imminent, Stravinsky was

anxious to leave Europe. He was offered the oppor-

tunity to speak at Harvard as part of the prestigious

Norton lecture series. Two years later, the synopsis

of these lectures was published under the title, "The

Poetics of Music ".

The last thirty years of Stravinsky's life were

characterized by many 'firsts'; a mass, an opera in

English and experimentation in serial music. These

Years were filled with acclaim, awards, and perfor-

mances of his works. On the occasion of his 80th

birthday, Stravinsky was honored by Pope John XXIII,

President and Mrs. Kennedy and many international
figures. He was also able to return to the Soviet

Union to tour, conduct his works and speak with Soviet

composers and students. Igor Stravinsky died April

6, 1971 at the age of 88.

34
 APPENDIX
VIOLIN WORKS AND CURRENT PUBLISHERS

A. Original Works for Violin

Concerto in D for violin and orchestra.

1931, Schott.

Duo Concertant.
1932, Boosey and Hawkes.

R. Transcriptions of Orchestra Suites

Divertimento. Symphonic Suite from The Fairy's
Kiss.
1932, Boosey and Hawkes.

Suite Italienne. Orchestral from Pulcinella.

1933, Boosey and Hawkes.

C. Transcriptions of Shorter Pieces

Elegie for viola (transposed for violin).
1944, Chappell.

'Ballad' from The Fairy's Kiss.

1947, Boosey and Hawkes.

'Berceuse' from The Firebird.

1933, Schott.

'Prelude' from The Firebird.

1929, Schott.

'Scherzo' from The Firebird.

1933, Schott.

35
 36

C. Transcriptions of Shorter Pieces (Continued)

'Russian Maiden's Sona' from Mavra.

1937, Boosey and Hawkes

'Russian Dance' from Petroushka.

1932, Boosey and Hawkes

'Pastorale' from Vocalise.

1933, Schott.
 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cone, Edward T. "The Uses of Convention: Stravinsky

and His Models ". The Musical Quarterly. July,
1962.

Emery, Frederick. The Violin Concerto. Chicago:

Violin Literature Publishinc Co., 1928.
Gulli, Franco. "Evolution of Violin Technique in
Relation to Interpretive Problems of Our Time ".
Concepts in String Playing. Ed. Murray Grodner.
Bloominaton: Indiana University Press, 1979.
Loft, Abram. Violin and Keyboard: The Duo Repertoire.
Volume II. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1973.
Onnen, Frank. Stravinsky. Stockholm: Continental
Book Co., 1948.
Silverstein, Joseph. "Violinists - Innovators, Col-
laborators or Instigators ". American String
Teacher. Vol. XXV, No. 4. (Autumn, 1975).

Siohan, Robert. Stravinsky. Trans. by E. W. White.

New York: Vienna House, 1965.
Stravinsky, Igor. Concerto in D. Arthur Grumiaux,
violin, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of
Amsterdam. Philips PHS 900 -194. Jacket notes
by Bernard Jacobsen, c 1965.

Stravinsky, Igor. Poetics of Music. Trans. by Alfred

Knodel and Ingolf Dahl. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1970.
Stravinsky, Igor. An Autobioaraphy. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1936.

Stravinsky, Igor and Craft, pobert. Conversations

With Stravinsky. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday
& Co., 1959.

37
 38

Stravinsky, Igor and Craft, Robert. Expositions and

Developments. Garden City: Doubleday & Co.,
1962.

Stravinsky, Vera and Craft, Robert. Stravinsky in

Pictures and Documents. New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1978.
Sziaeti, Joseph. Sziaeti on the Violin. New York:
Dover Publications, 1969.
Vlad, Roman. Stravinsky. Trans. by F. Fuller. London:
Oxford University Press, 1978.
White, Eric Walter. Stravinsky: A Critical Survey.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1948.
White, Eric Walter. Stravinsky: The Composer and
His Works. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1966.

White, Eric Walter and Noble, Jeremy. "Igor Stravinsky ".

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Vol. 18. Ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan
Publishers, 1980.