Igor Stravinsky famously felt that “music expresses itself” — essentially, that understanding a given piece of music requires little beyond what we hear when it’s played. Which may explain why the ...

The strategy of attaching a new or unknown piece to a program of war horses has always been a workable device in the concert hall. As the record industry — especially the crisis-ridden classical ...

Of his 89 years, Igor Stravinsky spent more than 30 in Los Angeles -- composing, conducting, flirting with the movie industry, participating in the city's growing musical awareness to a greater extent ...

Igor Stravinsky’s attempt to describe his Persephone was not too illuminating: “A nose,” he said, “is not manufactured; a nose just is. Thus, too, my art.” In the case of Persephone, the nose is ...

The Greek myth of Persephone is gross. Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, is “abducted” (i.e., raped) by Zeus’ brother, Hades, who takes her to the Underworld. As Demeter wanders the world ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Accept it or not, Igor Stravinsky has been crowned king of the century. He was the 20th century’s most famous composer, and there can be no question that he dominates music at the ...