Robert Craft

Robert Lawson Craft (born October 20, 1923) is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.

Life

Craft was born in Kingston, New York and studied music at the Juilliard School. He became particularly interested in early music and the music of Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, and in contemporary music by the composers of the Second Viennese School and others.

Craft met Stravinsky in 1948, and from then until the composer's death in 1971, Craft continued to work alongside Stravinsky in a variety of roles. A relationship that started as out with Craft in a rather modest role eventually evolved into a full blown artistic partnership. Craft wrote the libretto for "The Flood", and lived with the Stravinsky family in California and later in New York. Craft continued to remain close to the composer's widow Vera until her death in 1982.

After Stravinsky's death, Craft continued to concertize and to write. His 2002 book, "An Improbable Life", details his life before, during, and after his friendship with Stravinsky. The memoir elaborates on the impact that Igor Stravinsky had on his life.

Writing

Craft collaborated with Stravinsky on a series of books that covered various musical and non-musical subjects: "Conversations with Igor Stravinsky" (N.Y., 1959); "Memories and Commentaries" (N.Y., 1960); "Expositions and Developments" (N.Y., 1962); "Dialogues and a Diary" (N.Y., 1963); "Themes and Episodes "(N.Y., 1967); "Retrospectives and Conclusions" (N.Y., 1969). They include transcribed conversations between the two men, interviews culled from various published sources, essays, diary entries, and the like, all with the professed aim of presenting Stravinsky's views on music and culture. There has been a great deal of controversy as to whether or not the books actually reflect Stravinsky's ideas; many feel that Craft's influence on the material is so strong as to make it impossible to determine how much of the material truly represents Stravinsky's views.

Conducting

Craft is an award-winning conductor who has led most of the major orchestras in the United States: (New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Minneapolis), as well as concertizing internationally in Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. He is the first American to have conducted Alban Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu. Craft also led the world premieres of Stravinsky's later masterpieces; "Vom Himmel hoch", "Agon", "The Flood", "Abraham and Isaac", "Variations", "Introitus", and "Requiem Canticles".

Besides recording virtually all of Stravinsky's music, Craft has conducted pioneering recordings of Schoenberg, Varèse, Webern and other works of then contemporary composers. While not a flamboyant conductor, Craft is known for his technically and musically precise interpretations. Robert Craft is a two-time recipient of the Grand Prix du Disque, as well as the Edison Prize for his recordings of music by Varese and Stravinsky. His recordings of the music of Igor Stravinsky with the Orchestra of St. Luke's were originally available on eleven now out-of-print releases from MusicMasters and seven volumes from Koch. Since early 2005, these recordings have been gradually re-released by Naxos Records.

Criticism and legacy

Craft has not been without criticism in his life. Some viewed him as a sycophant in relation to Stravinsky. Others blamed him for leading Stravinsky into the largely unpopular regions of 1960s serialism. However, it is certain that, without Craft, Stravinsky would not have written the music that he did write in the 1950s and 1960s. As a recorder of Stravinsky's life and legacy, some claim that he was simply not in a position to be a neutral observer. Certainly, obtaining a clear, unfettered view of Igor Stravinsky is complicated by Robert Craft's intimate and personally inter-connected musicological views and writings.

Craft also has his own legacy. He has remained in a vanguard position in relation to twentieth century art music throughout his life as a conductor and musicologist. Besides working closely with one of the greats from the 20th century, Craft has produced volumes of academic and personal writings on Stravinsky and on others composers. In 2002, Robert Craft was awarded the International Prix du Disque at the Cannes Music Festival.

Publications

Robert Craft’s publications include:

*"Prejudices in Disguise" (N.Y., 1974)
*"Stravinsky in Photographs and Documents" (with Vera Stravinsky; London, 1976; N.Y., 1978)
*"Current Convictions: Views and Reviews" (N. Y., 1977)
*"Present Perspectives" (N.Y., 1984)
*"Stravinsky: Glimpses of a Life" (N.Y., 1992)
*"Down a Path of Wonder" (Norfolk, UK, 2006)

He also translated and edited "Stravinsky, Selected Correspondence" (3 vols., N.Y., 1982, 1984, 1985).

External links

* [http://www.robertcraft.net/ Official site]
* [http://www.nybooks.com/authors/332 New York Review of Books]
* [http://listproc.ucdavis.edu/archives/mlist/log0302/0015.html Music's Greatest Ventriloquist]
* [http://www.vanderbilt.edu/vupress/craftmem.htm An Improbable Life]