Stravinsky in Context offers an alternative to chronological biography. Thirty-five short, specially commissioned essays explore the eventful life-tapestry from which Stravinsky's compositions emerged. The opening chapters draw on new research into the composer's childhood in St. Petersburg. Stravinsky's early, often traumatic upbringing is examined in depth, particularly in the context of his brother Roman's death, and religious sensibilities within the family. Further essays consider Stravinsky's years in exile at the centre of dynamic and ever-evolving cultural environments, the composer constantly refining his idiom and re-defining his aesthetics against a backdrop of world events and personal tragedy. The closing chapters review new material regarding Stravinsky's complicated relationship with the Soviet Union, whilst also anticipating his legacy from the varied perspectives of publishing, research and even - in the iconic example of The Rite of Spring - space exploration. The book includes previously unpublished images of the composer and his family. - Thirty-five specially commissioned short essays explore the varied and eventful life-tapestry from which Stravinsky's compositions emerged - Offers a range of perspectives on this supremely cosmopolitan composer, revealing the impact upon Stravinsky's creativity of his association with many of the 20th century's leading artistic figures - Each essay is followed by an 'Author's Recommendation' that highlights a particularly relevant Stravinsky work as the ideal complement to the experience of reading the chapter Table of Contents Preface List of Contributors List of Abbreviations Part I. Russia and Identity: 1. Memory and truth: Stravinsky's childhood (1882-1901) Catriona Kelly 2. Religion, life and death in St Petersburg Natalia Braginskaya 3. Kashperova and Stravinsky: the making of a concert-pianist Graham Griffiths 4. Reminiscences of Rimsky-Korsakov, his family and artistic circle Lidia Ader 5. Orthodoxies and unorthodoxies: Stravinsky's spiritual journey Ivan Moody 6. The Russian soul Rowan Williams Part II. Stravinsky and Europe: 7. Sergei Diaghilev and Stravinsky: from world of art to ballets russes John E. Bowlt 8. Paris and the Belle Époque Davinia Caddy 9. Paris, Art Deco, and the spirit of Apollo Jonathan Cross 10. Stravinsky's Spain: fan or mirror? Graham Griffiths 11. 'It is Venice that he loves…' Mauricio Dottori Part III. Partnerships and Authorship: 12. Stravinsky's sphere of influence: Paris and beyond Inessa Bazayev 13. Stravinsky and his literary collaborators Maureen Carr 14. Assuming co-authorship: Stravinsky and his 'ghost-writers' Valérie Dufour 15. Nadia Boulanger and Stravinsky: the transition to America Kimberly Francis 16. Conversations with Craft Anna Schmidtmann Part IV. Performance and Performers: 17. Challenges to realism and tradition: Stravinsky's modernist theatre Massimiliano Locanto 18. Igor Stravinsky and ballet as modernism Stephanie Jordan 19. Stravinsky's ear for instruments Chris Dromey 20. Towards a conductor-proof ideal Hannah Baxter 21. The pianist in the recording studio: re-imagining interpretation Daniel Barolsky 22. The legacy of Stravinsky as recorded history Per Dahl Part V. Aesthetics and Politics: 23. Stravinsky versus literature Emily Frey 24. Stravinsky and Greek antiquity Katerina Levidou 25. Stravinsky's response to 'Japonisme' Mai Ikehara 26. Stravinsky, modernism and mass culture Ross Cole 27. Perspectives on Schoenberg and Stravinsky: Adorno and others Alan Street 28. Stravinsky's 'problematical' political orientation during the 1920s and 1930s Erik Levi Part VI. Reception and Legacy: 29. The Apollonian clockwork re-wound Elmer Schönberger 30. Stravinsky reception in the USSR Philip Ewell 31. The Stravinsky/Craft conversations in Russian and their reception Olga Manulkina 32. Publishing Stravinsky Nigel Simeone 33.Copyright, the Stravinsky estate, and the Paul Sacher foundation Heidy Zimmermann 34. Evoking the past, inspiring the future Lynne Rogers 35. 'Music is, by its very essence, powerless to express anything at all' Daniel K L Chua Index.