Stravinsky: The second Exile: France and America, 1934-1971

Stravinsky #2

by Stephen Walsh

The life and times of one of Russia's and America's greatest composers.

Genres: Music, Biography, Classical Music, History, Nonfiction

709 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2006

About the author

Professor Walsh was educated at Kingston Grammar School, St Paul’s School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. From 1963, he worked as a music journalist in London, at first freelance, writing for The Times, Daily Telegraph, and Financial Times, then from 1966 as deputy music critic of The Observer. He has broadcast regularly on musical topics for the BBC; a major feature of BBC Radio 3 programming in 1995 was his six two-hour broadcasts 'Conversations with Craft', in which he talked to Stravinsky's close associate, Robert Craft. Professor Walsh joined Cardiff University as a Senior Lecturer in Music in 1976, and now holds a personal chair in the School. He still contributes music criticism to The Independent and has since published a series of books and long papers on Bartok, Stravinsky, Kurtág and Panufnik, among others. The first volume of his major biography of Stravinsky — Stravinsky: A Creative Spring (Knopf, 1999) — won the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize for the best music book published in the UK in the year 2000. Volume Two — Stravinsky: The Second Exile (also Knopf) — was published in 2006.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume of Walsh's exhaustive Stravinsky biography covers the last half of the composer's life in great detail. This period covers the death of Stravinsky's first wife Katya, the tragic death of his daughter Mika, his move to America, Robert Craft's role in his life and work, and the sweeping stylistic changes of his later works. Walsh covers his subject very thoroughly and with great insight; he is unafraid to discuss Stravinsky's struggles and failings alongside his successes and accolades. All of this ably keeps Stravinsky: The Second Exile from becoming the somewhat boring and often monotonous litany of commissions, premieres, prizes, and appearances that the later parts of a successful composer's biography often are.

[Gijs Grob · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Second Exile' takes up Stravinsky's biography where part I, Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934' left off, oddly halfway the Russian composer's French career. This feels like a rather arbitrary cut, and the biography covers three periods: the last French years, Stravinsky's uncertain early years in the US during World War II until 'The Rake's Progress' and the final dodecaphonic period, in which Stravinsky suddenly joins the post-war avant-garde in serial writing. In this last part Robert Craft plays a large part, and Walsh pays ample attention on how the young man inspired the old composer into new areas of inspiration, but also how he distorted the composer's family ties.

The whole biography is very detailed. One knows where the composer is and what he's composing on virtually a daily basis, but Walsh's prose never becomes dry or boring. Nevertheless, the biography is one for the more informed fan. The biography especially gains steam when Stravinsky migrates to the US. 'The Second Exile' is most revealing on Stravinsky's creative impasse after 'The Rake's Progress', on the relationship between the Russian master and Robert Craft, and between Stravinsky and Pierre Boulez, Walsh also pays attention on how the composer's switch to serialism was perceived, on Stravinsky's short return to Russia, and how just before and after the composer's death squabbles on money and Stravinsky's heritage soured the relationship between Stravinsky's children on one side and Vera Stravinsky and Robert Craft on the other. These quarrelsome chapters form a sad ending to the tale of the greatest composer of the 20th century, who clearly wasn't the nicest person to be around with in real life.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This can be seen as an extension of link: my review of the preceding book in this 2-part series: Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France, 1882-1934. Both books are brilliant, but don't read this unless you've read the other. As I did with the previous section, I listened to each work as it was mentioned, and that really enhances the experience.

This covers the 2nd half of his life where Robert Craft becomes part of his life, he settles in America, and eventually he leaves behind his neo-classical phase for a serialistic phase. Wonderful reading for any fan of classical music since 1900!

[Stefanie Lubkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walsh continues with his extremely well-researched bio. I wish he had started with a little recap. While the account of all of Stravinsky's travels, meetings, compositions, premieres, financial negotiations, etc give a rich portrait of what it was like to be a working composer in the 20th century, the detail can be a little exhaustive, and yet at times lacking in emotional content.

[Koven Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whew. Suuuper dry, this book is. Completely exhaustive, but in a details-only sort of way. I feel like I have a good understanding of exactly what Stravinsky was doing nearly every day of the last 40 years of his life, but still feel no closer to really understanding what he was like.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book and a must read for classical music fans.