Stravinsky and Mr. B

As two of the most remarkable and highly prolific artists of the twentieth century, Stravinsky and Balanchine have already become the subjects of many books and even more articles, a number of which have discussed the fruitful relationship that inspired the composer to write some of his best works and the choreographer to make some of his finest ballets. Between Le Chant du Rossignol in 1925 (his first important work for Diaghilev) and the five ballets he made for the second Stravinsky Festival in 1982, his final works, Balanchine set twenty-seven different Stravinsky compositions, several of them more than once. Indeed, it seems so natural to think of them in tandem that it is easy to forget how few actual collaborations there were. By this I mean those pieces on which the two worked together, so that Balanchine influenced the shaping of the score and Stravinsky worked with him on shaping the choreography. Discounting the famous Circus Polka, there are only four works that can even be considered collaborations in this sense: Jeu de Cartes in 1936, on which Balanchine's input was very limited, Orpheus in 1948, Agon in 1957, and The Flood, the 1962 dance-drama for television

Art · Art history · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Theatre and Performance Studies