Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Septet (1952-3)

Crotchet = 88
Passacaglia
Gigue

Igor Stravinsky began this Septet in 1952, at a time when he was taking a close interest in the music of the then recently deceased Schoenberg. The piece is scored for an ensemble which is very similar to that of Schoenberg’s Suite for Septet, and the second movement was composed on a sixteen-note row, modelled on Schoenberg’s Wind Quartet. Needless to add, the work is entirely Stravinsky’s. The non-serial first movement is a sonata allegro with an opening theme on the clarinet and a fugue for development. The Passacaglia follows the example of Webern in dividing the theme amongst several instruments; nine variations ensue. In the Gigue Stravinsky uses a new series as the basis for an elaborate movement incorporating four fugues, alternately for strings and for piano with wind. The Sextet was completed in 1953 and is dedicated to the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

R. G. Bratby 1999


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