Igor Stravinsky

Performing Arts / Music

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The first comprehensive English biography to appear since the composer's death.

Michael Oliver

Editions:

Price: USD$14.95

150 points

Specifications

Paperback
English
220 x 156 mm, 8 5/8 x 6 1/8 in
240 pp
80 black and white illustrations
ISBN-13: 9780714847771
ISBN-10: 0714847771

Overview

The first comprehensive biography for the general listener to appear in English since the composer's death
Devotes particular attention to the composer's childhood in pre-revolutionary Russia, which was a formative influence
Charts his discovery by Diaghilev, his collaborations with choreographers, dancers, painters and designers as well as with writers
Concentrates on Stravinsky's creativity, describing how his musical mind worked and relating this to his complex and fascinating personality

In The Press

'A near-ideal introduction to the composer.' (Gramophone)

'one’s only regret about [Michael Oliver’s] two books is that they are not longer.' (Classic CD)

'As a series, Phaidon's 20th Century Composers has brought remarkable variety and a welter of information, both necessary and delightfully trivial. Intended both for the general reader and for the more enthusiatically musical...' (The Scotsman)

About the author(s)

Michael Oliver, who sadly died in 2002, was an acclaimed writer and broadcaster, having compiled numerous programmes for BBC Radio 3 and written regularly for Gramophone and other magazines for over 20 years. He was also the author of Benjamin Britten in the 20th-Century Composers series.