Encounters with Stravinsky - A Personal Record

Farrar Straus and Giroux - Michael Di Capua Books, 1972. First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Very Good/Very Good. 6" X 8 1/2. 300 Pages Indexed. Black cloth with gold spiine lettering and decorations. No defects noted to this bright book with a faultless interior. Dust jacket has light evidence of a label removed from the front and the price is crossed with red ink. Long before he met Igor Stravinsky, Paul Horgan's encounters with him began, and increasingly took on influence and meaning. As a schoolboy, he discovered Stravinsky through reading about him, and was aware that he had come in contact with the strongest new aesthetic style of the century. Later, through performances of Stravinsky's music and the composer's interviews and books, Horgan's dedication and knowledge continued to grow until at last, by a happy chain of circumstances, the encounter be- came actual: he met Stravinsky, who was at the summit of his powers, and a friendship of fourteen years ensued, lasting until the composer's death. This portrait-sketch, rich in detail and anecdote, presents a man who, if he was the greatest musician of his time, was also a presence of wit and courage, with a genius for unexpected views and actions. This book is not intended as a work of musicology or as a complete biography. Mr. Horgan writes as a loving friend who has a novelist's eye and ear for character and scene, and a historian's sense of the illuminating truth. There are many amusing and touching moments of Stravinsky onstage, backstage, and off- stage. The result is a devoted personal record of a very human old man. It extends to include prominently the presences of his wise and beautiful wife, the painter Vera Stravinsky, and his brilliant friend and musical associate, Robert Craft. The final section provides last glimpses of the power of an abundant spirit and, at the end, parables of strength in the face of final suffering. This book is a memorable account of the effect of a man of genius on the interior life of a fellow artist. Illustrated with 12 black and white drawings and photograophs. Contetns in Three Books: Before, Realizations, and To The End. Pllus Three Appendices: The Memorials, A Letter, and Acknowledgments.