Igor Stravinsky
Quiz Yourself About the Life and Music of
Igor Stravinsky
10.
What are some of the characteristics of Neoclassic music?
1. Revival of absolute forms (Sonata, Symphony, Concerto, etc.)
2. New concepts of melody: instrumental melody instead of vocal melody
3. Anti-romantic aesthetic
4. New sense of texture: away from the massed sonorities of Romanticism and
toward a leaner, more linear, and transparent texture
5. Chromaticism downplayed. Pan-diatonicism important
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Here is a very short and wonderful example of Neoclassic music by Stravinsky: the first movement of his Four Norwegian Moods. Would you agree that the melody here is more “instrumental” than “vocal”? The music is not very chromatic at all, and the rhythms are very straightforward. The texture is not think but rather quite lean and transparent. Easy to listen to!
11. What is the supreme achievement of Stravinsky’s Neoclassic period
(and his longest work, by far)?