Neoclassicism & Igor Stravinsky

Description
Ever wondered what is Neoclassicism in music? And how did Igor Stravinsky play his part? Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
From 1948 to 1951, Stravinsky worked on his only full-length opera, The Rake’s Progress, a Neoclassical work based on a series of moralistic engravings by the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The Rake’s Progress flirts with the late 18th-century grand opera but with the hard edges and twists of the Stravinsky wit and refinement.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Transcript

Hi, I'm Steven Hobé.

Neoclassicism in music was a reaction by composers to the indulgence of the late Romantic period and a harkening back to earlier genres that focused more on structure, balance, and emotional restraint.

One of the main initiators of Neoclassicism was Igor Stravinsky. 

In 1914 Stravinsky was relegated to Switzerland due to the Great War, a voluntary exile that led him to abandon his earlier style in favour of the Neoclassical form. This allowed for scaled-back orchestration and more mobile performances.

A great example of this, and one of my faves, is L'Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) which can be performed easily in varying locations. 

After World War II the tides of music esthetic shifted yet again, with those who rejected Neoclassicism and swung to the extreme of serialism or 12-tone, lead by such composers as Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg.