Response Paper 5 Stravinsky

A. Nirvaan Ranganathan
In the past, composers, such as Mozart and Handel, utilized
pastiche as a tool for stylistic parody, and to evoke exoticism. Later,
the delicious pastiche as Taruskin terms it, was used to sexually
charge the music. Stravinsky utilized the pastiche for very different
purposes. That Stravinskys pastiche referenced 18th century music
created a clear break from the immediate past, which was definitely
his intention. But his intentions were bounded there he did not utilize
other 18th century constructive principles. He was essentially
reinterpreting, and repurposing, olden style harmonies and specific
techniques, such as counterpoint. As Taruskin puts it, Stravinskys
compositions said 18th century without actually sounding like it.
Stravinskys motivation, in my opinion, stems from critiques of
his previous works, in the context of the cultural climate post World
War 1. The Great War showed the world that optimism and faith in
progress were not to be trusted. The neoclassical composers aimed at
writing a piece that could be a refuge from the flux and impermanence
in the outside world. Taruskin captures this idea in his discussion of
geometric figures as a basis for composition, rather than vitality and
expressiveness the same vitality that fuelled music for the century
prior. Stravinskys vision for music was to eliminate, or minimize,
emotional appeal and performers interpretation. Music is architecture

in time, nothing else it is evident that Stravinsky heavily favoured

geometric figures over vitality.
This shift from 19th century Romanticism to neoclassicism is
characterized by dehumanization. The notion of the dehumanization
of music is somewhat a misnomer. Composers such as Stravinsky
aimed higher than mankind, to something realer than real. Stravinsky
aimed for his compositions to be exclusively a system of sounds,
ordered and grouped purely by musical relationships, staying away
from psychological aspects such as desires and feelings. His concept of
the Pianola is an extreme manifestation of this dehumanization
although I believe that the Pianola was a step too far, since it
dehumanizes in the wrong direction.
With this cultural climate in mind, one could safely assume that
Stravinsky was not happy with reviews depicting the Rite of Spring as
filled with emotions, feelings, desires and aspirations. This
misperception of Stravinskys composition compelled him to take a
very different compositional path. Taruskins discussion of Stravinskys
Octet shows Stravinskys successful stylistic turnaround, further
validated by the audiences astonishment at Stravinskys new style.
The octet ostracized strings, which were deemed overly expressive and
romantic by Stravinsky. Instead, Stravinsky chose to use wind
instruments, a more dehumanizing sound. Additionally, he wanted to
minimize performer interference, and emphasize rigidity of form, to the

point that he composed a manual ritardando, changing note values

and time signatures to mechanically slow down the piece. The Octet
was indispensible for Stravinsky in developing the neoclassical
movement as he envisioned it.