Classic Ross Amico

Tag: The Firebird

Stravinsky at Princeton A 50 Year Remembrance

When an artist like Igor Stravinsky comes to town, you’re not likely to forget – even 50 years later.

Stravinsky was 84 years-old in 1966, and regarded as perhaps the greatest composer of his day, when he was commissioned by Princeton University and Stanley Seeger to write his “Requiem Canticles.” The work was written to the memory of Seeger’s mother, Helen Buchanan Seeger, a benefactor of the university and especially the university’s music department.

Stravinsky described the piece as his “pocket requiem,” six movements spanning roughly 15 minutes. The work is sung in Latin and rendered in the composer’s later, twelve-tone idiom. It was given its debut at McCarter Theatre Center on October 8 of that year. It would be Stravinsky’s last major work. It was played at his own funeral in Venice in 1971.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Stravinsky’s visit, the composer will be remembered, musically, on two programs to be performed at the university this weekend. Michael Pratt will conduct the Princeton University Orchestra in a suite from the composer’s ballet “The Firebird” on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Gabriel Crouch will lead the Princeton University Glee Club in the choral masterpiece “Les Noces” on Sunday at 3 p.m. Both works will be presented at Richardson Auditorium.

Find out more, and read first-hand accounts of the composer’s visit from Maida Pollock, then manager of the university’s concerts, and Bill Lockwood, then, as now, McCarter’s programming director, in my article in today’s Trenton Times:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/12/classical_music_puo_pugc_so_pe.html

PHOTO: Stravinsky (right) with his assistant, Robert Craft, in 1964

December 9, 2016
Stravinsky A Princeton Celebration

If it’s not too early for Igor, who traveled so far, it shouldn’t be too early for you.

So pull up a chair and enjoy a cup of neoclassicism. Pour yourself a bowl of serialism. Nibble on some Russian nationalism. It’s music by the 20th century’s most versatile composer, an incredible journey from a student symphony steeped in the idiom of the Mighty Handful to the absorption of twelve-tone technique in the moving “Requiem Canticles,” his last major work.

In 1966, the “Requiem Canticles” was commissioned by Princeton University, which led to a residency by the composer, who, at 84, conducted the world premiere of the work at McCarter Theatre. Join me this morning, as we gaze back a half-century to this remarkable event, with a full playlist of Stravinsky’s music.

The program will be enhanced by commentary by Maida Pollock, now 90 years-old and living in Hawaii. Pollock was the university’s concert manager at the time of Stravinsky’s visit. In the 9:00 hour, we’ll hear recorded excerpts from a conversation we had yesterday by telephone. That will be followed by a recording of “Requiem Canticles.”

In addition, we’ll have some special guests in the 10:00 hour: Michael Pratt, who will conduct the suite from Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” on two concerts of the Princeton University Orchestra, on Dec. 8 & 9, and Gabriel Crouch, who will lead a program including Stravinsky’s “Les Noces,” with the Princeton University Glee Club and So Percussion, on Dec. 11. All three concerts will be held at Richardson Auditorium.

It’s a full morning of grapefruit and Grape Nuts with the 20th century’s greatest composer, from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Suddenly we’re kind of hungry, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 1, 2016

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