More than anything, the music of Igor Stravinsky is passionate. Where so much of modern-day music throws a Brita filter in between the soul of an artist and the songs they write, one listen to any of Stravinsky’s early masterpieces will sell you to the fact that this composer was drinking straight from the tap – oftentimes taking long and disturbing looks at the cloudy water in his glass. His most well-known work (and arguably his best) is “The Rite of Spring,” a piece that literally caused a riot when it debuted in 1913. The audience honestly wasn’t prepared to hear music of such deep, disjointed emotion. Opening with the uncomfortable squeak of a solo bassoon, “Spring” is consistent in nothing except for its sense of impending doom, best exhibited in its “Rondes Printanieres” section, which is possibly the most frighteningly ominous piece of music ever written.
Folks like myself who are just plain ignorant when it comes to classical music should definitely check out The Essential Igor Stravinsky, a two-disc compilation of the composer’s most important work that roughs out an interesting sketch of his long and celebrated life. Disc 1 is the real attraction: along with the first movement of “The Rite of Spring,” it contains intensely dynamic excerpts from other classics, such as “Petrushka” and “The Firebird.” Stravinsky’s versatility is starkly apparent, especially in the back-to-back placing of “Pulcinella,” which exhibits Stravinsky’s harmonic talents with classic Victorian-era bounciness, and the frantic, unaccompanied piano of “Piano Rag Music,” which is much more reminiscent of free-form jazz than Scott Joplin.
Disc 2 chronicles Stravinsky’s post-1930 work, which naturally grew more reserved and less exploratory as the composer grew older. There are still some tasty surprises, however, like the haunting vocals of “Requiem Canticles,” which debuted when Stravinsky was 83. This alone shows that you don’t need a degree in Music History to appreciate Stravinsky’s genius, because even in his old age, the composer’s soul was still spilling out of his orchestra. His passion is something that can’t be faked; it can only be felt. Pick up The Essential Igor Stravinsky, and you’ll feel the brass pounding in your chest, the percussion crashing in your ears, and the strings swirling towards the heavens.