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Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship
The standard biographical source for the last decades of Stravinsky's life and a unique trove of primary material on twentieth-century cultural and intellectual history, now again available, in expanded form.
For nearly the last twenty-five years of Igor Stravinsky's incredibly full life, the noted musician, conductor, and writer Robert Craft was his closest colleague and friend, a trusted member of his household, and an important part of all of the composer's activities. Throughout these years, Craft kept a detailed diary, impressive in its powers of observation and characterization. That diary forms the basis for Chronicle of a Friendship, now released in a substantially revised and expanded new edition.
This edition includes nearly twice as many illustrations and more than 35% entirely new textual material. In addition, Craft adds an evocative "Postlude" in which he summarily brings matters forward to the death of Vera Stravinsky, several years after that of the Maestro.
Anyone interested in Stravinsky and his music, in Stravinsky's relationship with Craft, and in many of the luminaries and landmarks of twentieth-century Western cultural history will find this book essential reading. Here are revealing glimpses of Stravinsky's friendships and encounters with some of the great personages of twentieth-century culture, as well as intimate portraits of Stravinsky and Craft themselves.
For nearly the last twenty-five years of Igor Stravinsky's incredibly full life, the noted musician, conductor, and writer Robert Craft was his closest colleague and friend, a trusted member of his household, and an important part of all of the composer's activities. Throughout these years, Craft kept a detailed diary, impressive in its powers of observation and characterization. That diary forms the basis for Chronicle of a Friendship, now released in a substantially revised and expanded new edition.
This edition includes nearly twice as many illustrations and more than 35% entirely new textual material. In addition, Craft adds an evocative "Postlude" in which he summarily brings matters forward to the death of Vera Stravinsky, several years after that of the Maestro.
Anyone interested in Stravinsky and his music, in Stravinsky's relationship with Craft, and in many of the luminaries and landmarks of twentieth-century Western cultural history will find this book essential reading. Here are revealing glimpses of Stravinsky's friendships and encounters with some of the great personages of twentieth-century culture, as well as intimate portraits of Stravinsky and Craft themselves.
608 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
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April 14, 2020
I enjoyed this book much more than I should. After all, many of Craft’s diary entries do not go beyond short sentences like “Conduct Threni and Webern’s Symphony, Variations, and Second Cantata in the large auditorium of the Exposition Universelle” (October 6, 1958) or “To Wozzeck at the Oper and dinner at Lemke’s” (April 29, 1963), or even mere lists like “San Gemignano, Poggibonsi, and Pisa” (April 23, 1954).
But when Craft spares some more words, he gives a very interesting glimpse of his own inner works, his self-doubt, his awe for the more erudite minds he meets, and even his sexuality. Luckily, Craft is able to make fun of himself, for example when describing an embarrassing event on October 4, 1958.
But of course, the main reason to pick up this book is Igor Stravinsky, whom in his diary Craft always indicates with I.S., and with whom Craft was so intimate the last 23 years of the composer’s life. Stravinsky was already 65 when the two met, but it seems as if Craft injected some youth into the aging composer, for he lived up to a staggering 88.
Especially in the early diary entries Craft provides some peculiarities on the Russian composer (e.g. July 31, 1948, July 1 and August 8, 1949). Craft loved his old friend, but this book is certainly no hagiography: Stravinsky is presented with all his whims and quirks, his hot tempers and stubbornness, his heavy drinking and bad conducting. Take for example the diary entry of September 7, 1951: “During I.S.’s rehearsal in the Fenice, Jennie Tourel misses a cue, but he conducts to the end of her piece before realizing she isn’t singing.”
This period covers Stravinsky’s work on his opera ‘The Rake’s Progress’, his move from neo-classicism to serialism, the composer’s great undertaking of recording his own works for Columbia, a dinner with president Kennedy, and frequent visits to Europe, including his return to Russia in 1962. All are covered in this book.
There’s ample room for anecdotes, for example this one, especially appealing to me as a Dutch reader: The Stravinsky’s were in The Netherlands from May 31 to June 5, 1952, where they meet Queen Juliana of The Netherlands on June 4:
“A concert in the Ridderzaal in I.S.’s honor, opening the Holland Festival. Queen Juliana and her ministers, ambassadors, generals: I have never seen so much pomp and gold galloon, so many epaulettes, medals, and swords. I.S. and I are the only males not in uniform or white tie. Green plush chairs sustain the overfed, half-drunk, half-asleep audience. At intermission, following a drastically cut performance of Mozart’s Serenade, K. 361, the Queen sends for I.S., bids him sit next to her, declares her admiration for his “works,” and is not only taken aback but also struck dumb by his response: “And which of my works do you admire, Your Majesty?”
That Stravinsky could be witty is exemplified from time to time. Take for example this excerpt from September 6, 1960, in Rio de Janeiro: ”I.S. back from a sundown stroll, says he was solicited by one of the poules patrolling the hotel area. “I was touched by her suggestion; and tempted; you could dial a telephone with her nipples.”
On February 29, 1956 Stravinsky suffers a stroke, and Craft fears for the composer’s life, but things get really bad when Stravinsky falls to a terrible illness on August 21, 1967, which lasts to November 23. The composer will never totally recover, and regretfully never composes again. Even worse, the last four years of his life are that of a man decaying, unable to do what he likes most (composing), and slowly losing other abilities, as well. These are painful passages to read, and although Craft certainly doesn’t think so, one almost gets the impression the poor composer even lived too long…
Besides insight on Stravinsky’s latter years, Craft’s diaries give interesting obervations in the personalities of some of the great artists of the time, e.g. poets W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, writer Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood, painter Eugene Berman, sculptor Alberto Giacometti, and composers Arnold Schönberg and Pierre Boulez. Especially Craft’s description of Aldous Huxley, apparently a close friend to the Stravinskys, is delightful. Also of mention is the moving diary entry covering Craft’s meeting with Schönberg on July 5, 1950, a year before the Austrian composer’s death. Strangely, Schönberg and Stravinsky never met in Hollywood, even though their houses were not far apart.
The musical avant-garde scene of the early 1950s is covered very well, but Craft clearly loses interest halfway the 1950s, and remains out of touch with further developments. Especially electronic music gets a vicious treatment by him and Stravinsky, alike. On October 1, 1962 Craft also provides a portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, whom he met on the visit to the Soviet-union.
Craft is a good writer, and his account is mostly very engaging and entertaining, but here and there injects his diary with bad poetry, narcistic and self-indulgent passages, and all too intellectual wanderings, using surprisingly difficult and rare words, unknown to me at least, as a non-native speaker. For example, Craft visits an erotic bar on March 31, 1969, but his diary entry on this topic is remarkably dry, and seems more like an intellectual exercise. The same goes for Craft’s visit to the naked revue Oh! Calcutta on June 30, the same year.
Some of Craft’s observations of his surroundings are interesting in their own right. For example, his account on Egypt (October 31 to November 7, 1961) is great reading, even if Stravinsky is hardly or not present, at all. The same goes for Craft’s description of Tahiti (November 29 to December 1, 1961).
The 1994 edition is expanded by summarizing postscripts by Craft on each year. There are also three sections with pictures, the last one in color, showing the writer and the composer in several settings.
In all, ‘Stravinsky – Chronicle of a Friendship’ is a must-read for all Stravinsky fans, but also recommended to those interested in the post-war art world, and to those who love to read diaries, anyhow.
But when Craft spares some more words, he gives a very interesting glimpse of his own inner works, his self-doubt, his awe for the more erudite minds he meets, and even his sexuality. Luckily, Craft is able to make fun of himself, for example when describing an embarrassing event on October 4, 1958.
But of course, the main reason to pick up this book is Igor Stravinsky, whom in his diary Craft always indicates with I.S., and with whom Craft was so intimate the last 23 years of the composer’s life. Stravinsky was already 65 when the two met, but it seems as if Craft injected some youth into the aging composer, for he lived up to a staggering 88.
Especially in the early diary entries Craft provides some peculiarities on the Russian composer (e.g. July 31, 1948, July 1 and August 8, 1949). Craft loved his old friend, but this book is certainly no hagiography: Stravinsky is presented with all his whims and quirks, his hot tempers and stubbornness, his heavy drinking and bad conducting. Take for example the diary entry of September 7, 1951: “During I.S.’s rehearsal in the Fenice, Jennie Tourel misses a cue, but he conducts to the end of her piece before realizing she isn’t singing.”
This period covers Stravinsky’s work on his opera ‘The Rake’s Progress’, his move from neo-classicism to serialism, the composer’s great undertaking of recording his own works for Columbia, a dinner with president Kennedy, and frequent visits to Europe, including his return to Russia in 1962. All are covered in this book.
There’s ample room for anecdotes, for example this one, especially appealing to me as a Dutch reader: The Stravinsky’s were in The Netherlands from May 31 to June 5, 1952, where they meet Queen Juliana of The Netherlands on June 4:
“A concert in the Ridderzaal in I.S.’s honor, opening the Holland Festival. Queen Juliana and her ministers, ambassadors, generals: I have never seen so much pomp and gold galloon, so many epaulettes, medals, and swords. I.S. and I are the only males not in uniform or white tie. Green plush chairs sustain the overfed, half-drunk, half-asleep audience. At intermission, following a drastically cut performance of Mozart’s Serenade, K. 361, the Queen sends for I.S., bids him sit next to her, declares her admiration for his “works,” and is not only taken aback but also struck dumb by his response: “And which of my works do you admire, Your Majesty?”
That Stravinsky could be witty is exemplified from time to time. Take for example this excerpt from September 6, 1960, in Rio de Janeiro: ”I.S. back from a sundown stroll, says he was solicited by one of the poules patrolling the hotel area. “I was touched by her suggestion; and tempted; you could dial a telephone with her nipples.”
On February 29, 1956 Stravinsky suffers a stroke, and Craft fears for the composer’s life, but things get really bad when Stravinsky falls to a terrible illness on August 21, 1967, which lasts to November 23. The composer will never totally recover, and regretfully never composes again. Even worse, the last four years of his life are that of a man decaying, unable to do what he likes most (composing), and slowly losing other abilities, as well. These are painful passages to read, and although Craft certainly doesn’t think so, one almost gets the impression the poor composer even lived too long…
Besides insight on Stravinsky’s latter years, Craft’s diaries give interesting obervations in the personalities of some of the great artists of the time, e.g. poets W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, writer Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood, painter Eugene Berman, sculptor Alberto Giacometti, and composers Arnold Schönberg and Pierre Boulez. Especially Craft’s description of Aldous Huxley, apparently a close friend to the Stravinskys, is delightful. Also of mention is the moving diary entry covering Craft’s meeting with Schönberg on July 5, 1950, a year before the Austrian composer’s death. Strangely, Schönberg and Stravinsky never met in Hollywood, even though their houses were not far apart.
The musical avant-garde scene of the early 1950s is covered very well, but Craft clearly loses interest halfway the 1950s, and remains out of touch with further developments. Especially electronic music gets a vicious treatment by him and Stravinsky, alike. On October 1, 1962 Craft also provides a portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, whom he met on the visit to the Soviet-union.
Craft is a good writer, and his account is mostly very engaging and entertaining, but here and there injects his diary with bad poetry, narcistic and self-indulgent passages, and all too intellectual wanderings, using surprisingly difficult and rare words, unknown to me at least, as a non-native speaker. For example, Craft visits an erotic bar on March 31, 1969, but his diary entry on this topic is remarkably dry, and seems more like an intellectual exercise. The same goes for Craft’s visit to the naked revue Oh! Calcutta on June 30, the same year.
Some of Craft’s observations of his surroundings are interesting in their own right. For example, his account on Egypt (October 31 to November 7, 1961) is great reading, even if Stravinsky is hardly or not present, at all. The same goes for Craft’s description of Tahiti (November 29 to December 1, 1961).
The 1994 edition is expanded by summarizing postscripts by Craft on each year. There are also three sections with pictures, the last one in color, showing the writer and the composer in several settings.
In all, ‘Stravinsky – Chronicle of a Friendship’ is a must-read for all Stravinsky fans, but also recommended to those interested in the post-war art world, and to those who love to read diaries, anyhow.
October 4, 2023
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I love classical music, so when I saw this book on James Mustich’s list, I was intrigued. Robert Craft was Igor Stravinsky’s musical assistant for the last 23 years of his life. Craft kept a detailed diary, and he paints a vivid portrait of the eccentric composer and his friends including Aldous Huxley, WH Auden, TS Eliot, and Christopher Isherwood
I love classical music, so when I saw this book on James Mustich’s list, I was intrigued. Robert Craft was Igor Stravinsky’s musical assistant for the last 23 years of his life. Craft kept a detailed diary, and he paints a vivid portrait of the eccentric composer and his friends including Aldous Huxley, WH Auden, TS Eliot, and Christopher Isherwood
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews