Septet (Stravinsky)
The Septet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, violin, viola and cello is a chamber-music composition by Igor Stravinsky. It was composed between July 1952 and February 1953, and the first performance took place at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., on 23 January 1954. The score is dedicated to the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. It consists of three movements, the first lacking a title, and the last lacking a number in the score. The work is influenced by twelve-tone technique, especially by the Wind Quintet, Op. 26, and the Suite for septet, Op. 29, composed by Arnold Schoenberg.
Movements
= 88 = 60
. = 112–116Analysis
The Septet stands at a stylistic turning point in Stravinsky's œuvre, between the neoclassical period ending with his opera, The Rake's Progress, and the final, serial phase. All of the Septet is characterized by highly contrapuntal textures, but the first movement remains close to Stravinsky's earlier manner, whereas the remaining two exhibit his emerging new style. Stravinsky's adoption of serial techniques, here and in the Ricercar II of the Cantata (1952), caught nearly everyone by surprise at that time.
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (sometimes spelled Strawinski, Strawinsky, or Stravinskii; Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский, tr. Igorʹ Fëdorovič Stravinskij; IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ strɐˈvʲinskʲɪj]; 17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian (and later, a naturalized French and American) composer, pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.
Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). The last of these transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His "Russian phase" which continued with works such as Renard, The Soldier's Tale and Les Noces, was followed in the 1920s by a period in which he turned to neoclassical music. The works from this period tended to make use of traditional musical forms (concerto grosso, fugue and symphony), drawing on earlier styles, especially from the 18th century. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures. His compositions of this period shared traits with examples of his earlier output: rhythmic energy, the construction of extended melodic ideas out of a few two- or three-note cells and clarity of form, and of instrumentation.
Stravinsky (disambiguation)
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor.
Stravinsky may also refer to:
Stravinsky (horse)
Stravinsky is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from August 1998 until November 1999 he ran eight times and won three races. He showed promising form as a two-year-old and was regarded as a serious Contender, but ran disappointingly over distances of seven furlongs and one mile in early 1999. He reverted to sprint distances to record impressive wins in the July Cup and the Nunthorpe Stakes, earning the title of European Champion Sprinter. At the end of the season he was retired to stud where he has had some success as a sire of winners.
Background
Stravinsky is a powerfully built bay horse standing 15.3 hands high, with a white star and a white sock on his near foreleg. He was sired by the disqualified 2000 Guineas winner Nureyev out of the mare Fire The Groom. Apart from Stravinsky, Nureyev was the sire the winners of at least forty-five Group One/Grade I including Peintre Celebre, Spinning World, Zilzal, Fasliyev and Wolfhound. His career as a stallion has been described as "outstanding". Stravinsky’s dam Fire The Groom won the Grade I Beverly D. Stakes in 1991 and was a half sister of the Haydock Sprint Cup winner Dowsing.
Septet
A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry.
In jazz music a septet is any group of seven players, usually containing a drum set, string bass or electric bass, and groups of one or two of the following instruments, guitar, piano, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, or trombone.
Septet (Beethoven)
The Septet in E-flat major, Opus 20, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was sketched out in 1799, completed, and first performed in 1800 and published in 1802. The score contains the notation: "Der Kaiserin Maria Theresia gewidmet", or translated, "Dedicated to the Empress Maria Theresa."
Instrumentation
It is scored for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
Structure and analysis
The composition is in six movements:
The overall layout resembles a serenade and is in fact more or less the same as that of Mozart's string trio, K. 563 in the same key, but Beethoven expands the form by the addition of substantial introductions to the first and last movements and by changing the second minuet to a scherzo. The main theme of the third movement had already been used in Beethoven's Piano Sonata, (Op. 49 No. 2), which was an earlier work despite its higher opus number. The finale features a violin cadenza.
Septet (album)
Septet is an album by pianist Chick Corea featuring music for string quartet, piano, flute and French horn recorded in 1984 and released on the ECM label.
Reception
The Allmusic review awarded the album 2 stars.
Track listing
Personnel
References
Podcasts:
