Stravinsky A Creative Spring Russia and France, 1882-1934

"Sometimes the details grow wearisome--we learn of every stop on every concert tour. But it's entertaining to see Walsh weigh the evidence from his contrary sources about even the smallest of them. Finally we are left with an image of this overbearing, dapper, ugly little man, whose unorthodox conducting style communicated the essential thing about his music--a rhythmic propulsion as inexorable and as liberating as the spring thaw. It is Stravinsky seen from the outside. To get some idea of what made such a genius tick you have to search out the Stravinsky-Craft books, however suspect and unreliable. But Walsh's is a useful and honorable portrait. It leaves you wanting to listen again and again to every piece, from the tiny shards of the 'Pribaoutki' to the curlicued grandeur of 'Oedipus Rex.'''Walsh, Stephen is the author of 'Stravinsky A Creative Spring Russia and France, 1882-1934', published 2003 under ISBN 9780520227491 and ISBN 0520227492.