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Igor Stravinsky Collection
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (1882-1971) was born in Russia, near St. Petersburg, grew up in a musical atmosphere , and studied with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He had his first important opportunity in 1909, when the impresario Sergei Diaghilev heard his music, and went on to commission Stravinksy's first ballet. During World War I, Stravinsky sought refuge in Switzerland; after the armistice, he moved to France, his home until the onset of World War II, when he came to the United States. During his years in the United States, he lived outside Los Angeles, and was assisted by his young protégé, Robert Craft. In 1962 he accepted an invitation to return to Russia for a series of concerts, but remained an emigre firmly based in the West. He died in New York City on April 6, 1971, at the age of 89 and was buried in Venice on the cemetery island of San Michele. His grave is close to the tomb of his early collaborator, Diaghilev. He was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the century, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In his 1936 autobiography, Chronicles of My Life, written with the help of Alexis Roland-Manuel, Stravinsky included his infamous statement that "music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all."
The collection consists of correspondence and documents relating to the Princeton commission of Requiem Canticles by Stravinsky. Correspondents include Princeton University President Robert Goheen, Joseph Lynch, Augustus P. Mack, Jr., Ricardo A. Mesters, Armine T. Montapert, and Stanley Seeger. The orchestral score, dated 1966, was dedicated to the memory of Helen Buchanan Seeger. The documents include the original and drafts of the agreement between Princeton University and Stravinsky regarding the commission of the composition. Also included is an announcement of the first performance of the requiem by Stravinsky on October 8, 1966, at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, which was conducted by Stravinsky and Robert Craft.
Arranged chronologically by year.
The papers were the gift of Stanley J. Seeger in December 9, 1992 (AM1993-84).
This collection was processed by Dina Britain on September 27, 2007. Finding aid written by Lauren Kustner on November 12, 2007. Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager '2015 in 2013.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
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