- Symphony in Three Movements (Stravinsky)
The Symphony in Three Movements is a work by Russian expatriate composer
Igor Stravinsky . Stravinsky wrote the symphony from 1942–45 on commission by thePhilharmonic Symphony Society of New York . It was premièred by theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra under Stravinsky onJanuary 24 ,1946 .The Symphony in Three Movements is considered as Stravinsky's first major composition after emigrating to the
United States [Michael Oliver, "Igor Stravinsky" (London: Phaidon Press Ltd, 1995), p. 152.] . It uses material written by Stravinsky for aborted projects and is in a style reminiscent of his "enfant terrible " period, when composing music for producerSerge Diaghilev .Fact|date=April 2008In 1943, Stravinsky had begun work on rescoring his "
enfant terrible " ballet "The Rite of Spring ." Although the project was left incomplete, his revisit to this earlier composition appears to have influenced the symphony. The symphony is violent and highly rhythmic while maintaining aneoclassical organization [Eric Walter White, "Stravinsky: The Composer and his Works," 2nd edition (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1979), p. 435.] .A typical performance of the symphony lasts 20-25 minutes:
# "Overture; Allegro" (about 10 minutes)
# "Andante; Interlude: L'istesso tempo" (about 6 minutes)
# "Con moto" (about 6 minutes)Stravinsky, who rarely acknowledged outside inspirations for his music, referred to the composition as his 'war symphony' [Charles M. Joseph, "Stravinsky Inside Out" (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 120.] . He claimed the symphony as a direct response to events of the
Second World War in bothEurope andAsia . The first movement was inspired by a documentary on Japanesescorched earth tactics inChina . The third movement deals with footage of German soldiers goosestepping and the allied forces' mounting success [Michael Oliver, "Igor Stravinsky" (London: Phaidon Press Ltd, 1995), pp.152, 154-6.] .Material is drawn from projects that Stravinsky had abandoned or reorganized. The
pianoforte 's presence in the first movement stems from a piano concerto that was left incomplete. Music forharp is prominent in the second movement, using themes for a film adaptation ofFranz Werfel 's novel "The Song of Bernadette ". Stravinsky was considered for this project but it was later assigned toBernard Herrmann . The third movement unites the first two movements by giving equal emphasis to piano and harp [Eric Walter White, "Stravinsky: The Composer and his Works," 2nd edition (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1979), p. 429.] .In contrast to Stravinsky's earlier "Symphony in C", the "Symphony in Three Movements" is much more turbulent and chromatic. While the "Symphony in C" is based on abstract ideas, his later symphony makes use of pressing social concerns. From a purely musical standpoint, the Symphony harkens back to Stravinsky's earlier styles of composition while an outstanding achievement of
neoclassicism [Eric Walter White, "Stravinsky: The Composer and his Works," 2nd edition (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1979), p. 435.] .Notes
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