Bibliography

Foremost among these publications are Stravinsky's own recollections as told to his long-time friend and associate Robert Craft. In addition, Craft's own diaries, namely Chronicles and Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents are considered definitive.

Other noteworthy authors include Stephen Walsh, who is currently working on a major biography of Stravinsky, and has already published The Music of Stravinsky. Wilson White's monograph is an excellent reference book, and especially useful for laymen interested in musical structure.

Craft, R., Stravinsky: the Chronicle of a Friendship 1948-1971, Knopf, New York; Gollancz, London, 1972.
This collection of diaries represents the most thorough glimpse we have of Stravinsky's later life. They are grouped into one-year-long chapters and all his meetings with celebrities and outstanding events (which occur about once a month) are recorded. His travel itineraries are also available as short summaries.
Craft, R., Igor and Vera Stravinsky: a photograph album, Thames and Hudson, London, 1982.
Craft, R., A Stravinsky Scrapbook 1940-1971, Thames & Hudson, London, 1983.
Craft, R., Stravinsky: Glimpses of a Life, Lime Tree, London, 1992.
Stravinsky, I., Chroniques de ma vie, Denoel Steele, Paris, 1935-6, 2 vols. English edition in one volume: Gollancz, London; and Simon & Schuster, New York, 1936.
Stravinsky, I. and Craft, R., Conversations with Igor Stravinsky, Faber, London; Doubleday, New York, 1959.
Stravinsky, I. and Craft, R., Memories and Commentaries, Faber, London; Doubleday, New York, 1960.
Stravinsky, I. and Craft, R., Expositions and Developments, Faber, London; Doubleday, New York, 1962.
Stravinsky, I. and Craft, R., Dialogues and a Diary, Doubleday, New York, 1963; Faber, London, 1968; reissued by Faber in 1982 without the Diary section, as Dialogues.
Stravinsky, I., Themes and Conclusions,, Faber, 1972.
Stravinsky, I., Poétique musicale, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1942. English edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1947.
Craft, R. (ed), Stravinsky: Selected Correspondence, Faber, London, 1982, 1984, 1985.
Stravinsky, V. and Craft, R., Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1978; Hutchinson, London, 1979.
This is an attractive compilation of photographs and also includes recollections from Craft's diaries. It is most important for the various vignettes that it includes, ranging from observations of acquaintances to the newspaper article. In it we trace the composer as he blossoms in youth, his reaction to the riot caused by his Le Sacre du Printemps, his shift in composition style and also his funeral service.
Vlad, R., Stravinsky, Oxford University Press, London (2nd ed.), 1967.
A short book that traces Stravinsky's life and important works, written with the perspective of a contemporary critic. However, it does not mention Stravinsky's later works, most notably the Requiem Canticles.
Walsh, S., The Music of Stravinsky,, Oxford University Press, London, 1988.
`Stephen Walsh's commentaries on the music of Igor Stravinsky bring us nearer than ever before to an understanding of the composer's artistic philosophy and the nature of his achievement. The level of discourse is high and lucidly sustained, and the qualitative judgments, disputable in the case of individual works, reflect close inner and outer listening.... Walsh's Stravinsky monograph is the most intelligent published to date.' -- Robert Craft
White, W., Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works.
A neat and compact register of Stravinsky's complete works, including tempo markings and details of revisions. It also includes a biography of the composer with special emphasis on his important works and their inspiration. Contains useful listening guides.

Recordings

A simple piece of advise is to not buy the Stravinsky-conducted recordings. Paradoxical? In Robert Craft's Avant-Propos from the notes to his Igor Stravinsky: The Composer, Volume I 2-CD set, he flatly states that the performances were `largely unsatisfactory'.

Soloists had to be "name" artists under contract to the recording company, whether or not ideally suited to the works they were invited to record. But the most burdensome circumstance for the octogenarian conductor was in strict limitation of recording-session time.
Craft has embarked on a project to record the complete Stravinsky works. He has already released seven volumes (the latest in 1995) under the MusicMasters label. My personal opinion of these recordings is very favorable and I recommend them to the reader. Even Stravinsky himself, in the Asahi Evening News, April 8, 1959, said,
Robert Craft is the best conductor of my works... `the old ones, the new ones, and even those not yet written.'"

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