This article retraces for the first time ever the course of events that between 1954 and 1956 brought Stravinskij to modify his initial design of Passion selon Saint Marc, reducing it to a brief Canticum that was formally shorter and compositionally more open to experimentation. The Artistic Director of the Biennale (Alessandro Piovesan) repeatedly objected to this decision, mostly because of the brief duration of the piece, but to no avail. In the light of the letters found in Venice, the refusal of Stravinskij – refusals that brought to a cut in the budget that had been offered by the Biennale – may finally be fully understood and confirm the rigor and determination of the composer in his desire to undertake a new stylistic direction that had already been introduced in a few of his works (Three Songs from William Shakespeare and Agon). The article ends quoting some of the statements by Mario Labroca (composer, critic and Festival planner in Venice) that tend to set the events related to the commission of this piece in a social context that was tightly bound to the position of the composer in mid-Twentieth century European Society. Imposing his own times and conditions to one of the largest European musical institutions, Stravinskij contributed in defining term between musician and client, emancipating musicians from the romantic idea of the artist that society wanted to preserve.
Nell'articolo si ricostruiscono per la prima volta le vicende che portarono Stravinskij tra il 1954 e il 1956 a modificare il progetto iniziale di una Passion selon Saint Marc a favore di un breve Canticum, di dimensioni formali ridotte e più sperimentale nello stile compositivo. Le obiezioni, che furono più volte reiterate al compositore dal direttore artistico della Biennale (Alessandro Piovesan) e che riguardavano per lo più le limitate dimensioni del pezzo, furono tutte eluse da Stravinskij. Alla luce delle lettere rinvenute a Venezia, le vicende del rifiuto di Stravinskij – un rifiuto che comportò anche un autoridimensionamento del budget offerto dalla Biennale – possono essere ora pienamente comprese e confermano il rigore e la determinazione del compositore ad intraprendere la nuova direzione stilistica già sperimentata con pezzi come Three Songs from William Shakespeare e Agon. L'articolo si conclude riportando alcune dichiarazioni di Mario Labroca (compositore, critico e organizzatore dei festivals veneziani) che tendono ad inquadrare le vicende relative alla commissione di questo pezzo nel contesto sociale relativo alla posizione del compositore nella società europea della metà del Ventesimo secolo. Imponendo tempi e condizioni proprie ad una delle più grandi istituzioni musicali europee, Stravinskij contribuì all'evoluzione dei rapporti tra musicista e committente, emancipandoli definitivamente da quanto ancora resisteva dell’idea romantica che si voleva continuare ad avere del musicista.
Otto lettere inedite di Stravinkij: le vicende di una commissione veneziana
POZZI, Egidio
1999-01-01
Abstract
This article retraces for the first time ever the course of events that between 1954 and 1956 brought Stravinskij to modify his initial design of Passion selon Saint Marc, reducing it to a brief Canticum that was formally shorter and compositionally more open to experimentation. The Artistic Director of the Biennale (Alessandro Piovesan) repeatedly objected to this decision, mostly because of the brief duration of the piece, but to no avail. In the light of the letters found in Venice, the refusal of Stravinskij – refusals that brought to a cut in the budget that had been offered by the Biennale – may finally be fully understood and confirm the rigor and determination of the composer in his desire to undertake a new stylistic direction that had already been introduced in a few of his works (Three Songs from William Shakespeare and Agon). The article ends quoting some of the statements by Mario Labroca (composer, critic and Festival planner in Venice) that tend to set the events related to the commission of this piece in a social context that was tightly bound to the position of the composer in mid-Twentieth century European Society. Imposing his own times and conditions to one of the largest European musical institutions, Stravinskij contributed in defining term between musician and client, emancipating musicians from the romantic idea of the artist that society wanted to preserve.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.