Stravinsky's 'passport' to the Violin Concerto was a wide-spanning D-E-A chord, which appears at the start of each movement, created by estranging the sound of the three upper open strings.
Composition History
Stravinsky composed the Orchestral Suites Nos. 1 and 2, originally as easy piano duets, partly to create music for his children to play.
Performer Biography
James Ehnes, the violinist on this recording, began violin studies at age four, made his orchestral debut at thirteen, and plays the 'Marsick' Stradivarius from 1715.
Composition History
The Violin Concerto was commissioned after Willy Strecker, director of Schott (Stravinsky's publisher), suggested he write a concerto for the Polish-born violinist Samuel Dushkin.
Composer's Artistic Vision
After the October Revolution made it impossible for Stravinsky to return to Russia, he denied the importance of subject matter in music, turning to strict 17th and 18th-century forms for objectivity, leading to his 'neoclassical' style.
Compositional Technique
In Apollon musagète, Stravinsky used a string orchestra divided into six parts, with two cello sections, and often varied by solo lines, to achieve a 'multisonorous euphony'.
Composer Biography
Igor Stravinsky's 'neoclassical' period, spanning the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, showcased a wide variety of styles, from baroque masters to café music.
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