Details
STRAVINSKY, Igor (1882-1971). Autograph letter signed ("I. Str."), to Dagmar Godowsky, Paris, 27 July 1938. 1 page, folio, mainly in French (small part in German), in wood frame.
STRAVINSKY DEPLORES VERDI'S "BORING" FALSTAFF (CONDUCTED BY TOSCANINI) AND THE "SNOBBISM" OF SALZBURG
Stravinsky, in a highly critical mood, expresses strong musical criticism of a recording of Verdi's Falstaff (1893), which he labels "a very boring opera, monotonous and shapeless." He condemns the conductor, "the eclectic Toscanini who made it fashionable in his Salzburg, a town detested by Mozart, a town of snobbism and musico-international careerism, a town punished (an inconstancy of fate) by the German occupation." He inquires about Godowsky's travel plans and confirms he is "staying firmly in Paris, because of my sick [patients] whom I cannot and do not want to leave." Stravinsky alludes to the strain on caused by their illness: "one never knows for how long. Maybe I will go tonight to rest for two days very near Paris." A postscript concerns his concerts, confirming "this year [is] too late, perhaps next year?"
Stravinsky comments at length on Verdi and other major composers in his Poetics of Music (1939), a series of lectures prepared for Harvard University. Tragic illness had stricken his family at this time, and a 6-month period saw the death of three family members. These events, along with the outbreak of war in Europe, precipitated his immigration to the United States, where he became an American citizen in 1945.
STRAVINSKY DEPLORES VERDI'S "BORING" FALSTAFF (CONDUCTED BY TOSCANINI) AND THE "SNOBBISM" OF SALZBURG
Stravinsky, in a highly critical mood, expresses strong musical criticism of a recording of Verdi's Falstaff (1893), which he labels "a very boring opera, monotonous and shapeless." He condemns the conductor, "the eclectic Toscanini who made it fashionable in his Salzburg, a town detested by Mozart, a town of snobbism and musico-international careerism, a town punished (an inconstancy of fate) by the German occupation." He inquires about Godowsky's travel plans and confirms he is "staying firmly in Paris, because of my sick [patients] whom I cannot and do not want to leave." Stravinsky alludes to the strain on caused by their illness: "one never knows for how long. Maybe I will go tonight to rest for two days very near Paris." A postscript concerns his concerts, confirming "this year [is] too late, perhaps next year?"
Stravinsky comments at length on Verdi and other major composers in his Poetics of Music (1939), a series of lectures prepared for Harvard University. Tragic illness had stricken his family at this time, and a 6-month period saw the death of three family members. These events, along with the outbreak of war in Europe, precipitated his immigration to the United States, where he became an American citizen in 1945.