Stravinsky: In Pictures and Documents.
STRAVINSKY, Vera; Robert Craft [Charles Strouse].
Stravinsky: In Pictures and Documents.
First Edition of Vera Stravinsky and Robert Craft's Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents; From the Collection of Broadway Composer Charles Strouse
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978.
$125.00
In Stock
Item Number: 152209
First edition of this authoritative biography of Igor Stravinsky. Quarto, original cloth, profusely illustrated with black-and-white photographs. From the collection of Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning composer Charles Strouse and his wife, choreographer Barbara Siman. Over his 50-year career, Charles Strouse wrote the music for such iconic musical theater hits as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie, as well as the theme song for the classic sitcom All in the Family (“Those Were the Days”). His partnership with Martin Charnin on Annie produced one of Broadway’s most successful scores ever, with “Tomorrow” and other songs from the production becoming enduring American musical standards admired by generations. His reach knew no genre or generation – from a number-one Billboard hit in 1958 to Jay-Z’s Grammy-winning sampling of “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” four decades later – and his honors include three Tony Awards and induction into both the Songwriters and Theater Halls of Fame. With his ownership stamp to the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Designed by Edith Fowler. Jacket design by Robert Anthony.
Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents (1978) is a monumental documentary biography of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), assembled by the composer's widow, Vera Stravinsky (1888-1982), and his longtime musical associate and amanuensis Robert Craft (1923-2015). Departing from conventional narrative, the authors tell the story of one of the twentieth century's supreme musical figures largely through primary materials, hundreds of photographs, letters, diary entries, contracts, and other documents drawn from the Stravinsky archive, many published here for the first time, accompanied by Craft's connecting commentary and a wealth of annotation. The result is an unusually intimate chronicle that follows Stravinsky from his Russian childhood and the epoch-making early ballets The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring through his years in Switzerland, France, and the United States, illuminating not only his music but the artists, writers, and impresarios, among them Diaghilev, Picasso, and Cocteau, who populated his extraordinary life. Vera, a painter and former dancer who became Stravinsky's second wife, and Craft, who lived within the Stravinsky household for more than two decades, were uniquely placed to compile this rich and authoritative record.
