The Apollonian Clockwork: On Stravinsky

by Louis Andriessen, Elmer Schönberger

‘I think my music deserves to be considered as a whole’, Igor Stravinsky remarked at the end of a long and restless career, and that is exactly what the authors of The Apollonian Clockwork do. In 1982, convinced that there is no essential difference between ‘early’ and ‘late’ Stravinsky, Louis Andriessen and Elmer Schönberger were the first to write a monograph on the composer which radically breaks with the habit of dividing his works into ‘Russian’, ‘neoclassical’ and ‘serial’. In an essay which continually shifts in its approach, style and perspective, the authors elaborate on their insight that a single, immutable compositional attitude underlies the whole of Stravinsky’s oeuvre. By this token the book not only offers an analysis of the composer’s protean work and artistry but takes example by it as well.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Willem Hoekstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een biografie in essays van de muziek van Stravinsky, geschreven door Louis Andriessen en Elmer Schönberger.
De essays met al te gedetailleerde muzikale analyses van stukken van Stravinsky die ik niet (goed) kende, heb ik overgeslagen, maar er blijft genoeg moois over waarin Andriessen en Schönberger hun bewondering voor het werk van Stravinsky (en hun afkeer van andere muziek) niet onder stoelen of banken steken, zonder te vervallen in kritiekloze idolaterie.

[Gijs Grob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originele, bijna lukraak bijeengebrachte essays over Stravinsky en zijn muziek, Soms diepgravend, en ontoegankelijk zonder flinke kennis van de accoordenleer, maar meestal speels en inzichtelijk inzake Stravinsky's muziek.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although musicologically it was well over my head, I still learned a great deal.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. A must-read for insights into Stravinsky I've not found in any other book. Can be read differently depending on the musical expertise of the reader. Some will skip over the more technical bits. So glad it is finally available in English after years of searching!