The violin works of Igor Stravinsky form an integral and vital part of the contemporary violin repertoire. The violin works fall into two categories: original compositions and transcriptions of previous compositions. Included in these transcriptions are orchestral suites and selections from ballet and opera. Many similarities can be noted among the compositions of this genre. The majority were composed or transcribed during a fifteen year period of Stravinsky's career and they exhibit a particular style of composition utilized by Stravinsky at that time. These violin works also generate from an amiable association between Stravinsky and a young violin virtuoso, Samuel Dushkin. During this time, Stravinsky was changing the focus of his career from that of being primarily a composer, to composer, conductor and performer. This necessitated compositions which Stravinsky could perform on tours with Dushkin. This study will be primarily concerned with Stravinsky's compositions for violin written during the years 1931 to 1935. In order to put these compositions in perspective, it is beneficial to investigate earlier events in Stravinsky's life.

The lecture recital was given on August 8, 1978. The discussion of constructive features in Gabrielli's In ecclesiis (1615) and Canzon VIII à 8 (1615) and Stravinsky's In Memoriam Dylan Thomas established that the architecture of St. Mark's Cathedral and the selected works by the composers bear a simple number relation.

How is Stravinky still recognisable even if he “merely” transcribes someone else’s work and orchestrates almost without changing pitch and rhythm? What technical procedures enable him to add a certain haptic and physical feel to the sound? As Wolfgang Rihm once said, Stravinsky formed music – even that of others – with his big hands to suit it to his own image and thereby paving two ways: one historical and the other personal. Both of these lead to Venice. This essay concentrates on the analysis of Stravinsky\'s Two sacred songs from 1968. An accurate profile may be given to the results by comparing them with the orchestration (written for nearly the same instruments) which is realized in Gérard Grisey’s Wolf-Lieder from 1997. Works from the German-Austrian compositional tradition conflict both with Stravinsky’s and Grisey’s arrangements on account of a sensitivity to timbre that dates from an originally French tradition of orchestration. It will be shown that counterpoint can effectively become a neutralizing agent in this clash of cultures.

Les recherches entreprises sur Olivier Messiaen présentent encore de nombreuses lacunes bien que cet artiste figure parmi les compositeurs les plus connus et les plus influents du XXe siècle. Puisant à des sources primaires négligées dans les Archives nationales, la Médiathèque du CNSMDP, la fondation Sacher et des collections privées, cette thèse se penche sur trois aspects mal connus de cette figure phare de la modernité : la formation musicale de Messiaen au Conservatoire national de Paris pendant les années 1920 et les liens de sa musique avec les traditions pédagogiques de cet établissement, le développement de sa technique d’emprunt, de transformation et de juxtaposition des musiques préexistantes dans son œuvre pendant les années 1930 et 1940 et, enfin, ses expériences dans les domaines de la musique microtonale et de la musique concrète. Ce travail met en évidence plusieurs œuvres oubliées du compositeur et reconsidère notre compréhension de sa manière de composer. / Despite his place of privilege among the best-known and most influential composers of the twentieth century, the state of current research on Olivier Messiaen leaves much room for development. This study focuses on three understudied aspects of this major modern figure drawing from neglected primary sources in the French National Archives, the Mediathèque of the Paris Conservatory, the Sacher Stiftung, and private collections, notably 1º Messiaen’s eductation at the Paris Conservatory during the 1920s and the relationship of his music to the institutions pedagogical traditions, 2º the development of Messiaen’s technique of borrowing, transforming and juxtaposing pre-existing music in his compositions during the 1930s and 1940s, and finally, 3º Messiaen’s experimentation in the domains of microtonal music and musique concrète. The current study brings to light many of the composer’s forgotten or lesser-known works and reconsiders our understanding of how he composed.

Plus connu comme ethnologue que comme musicologue, André Schaeffner (1895-1980) a adopté, dans ses travaux sur la musique savante, une position contraire à un type de critique prétendument « objective », qui se voudrait neutre face à l’œuvre d’art. Il y revendique le droit à une « critique d’admiration », ne cachant pas ses préférences personnelles. La démarche de Schaeffner se caractérise par l’absence d’une « vision téléologique de l’histoire de la musique » ou de tout esprit de système, et par l’importance accordée à la mise en perspective historique et esthétique, à la contextualisation de l’œuvre du compositeur. Cette vision de la critique a été fréquemment dénoncée comme péchant par l’absence de tout jugement. En reconstruisant l’ensemble des circonstances qui entourent les événements auxquels il s’intéresse, en collectant et en soumettant à un examen attentif les documents qui y ont trait, Schaeffner remet en question des idées reçues, des clichés autour desquels flotte une trompeuse aura de légitimité. Cette thèse montre, en s’appuyant sur de nombreux documents – textes publiés ou restés inédits, notes de travail, riche correspondance –, comment Schaeffner a mené ce type d’étude critique à propos de l’œuvre de deux musiciens auxquels il a voué un intérêt passionné, l’un disparu : Claude Debussy, l’autre vivant et qu’il a pu côtoyer : Igor Stravinsky, ainsi que la manière dont on a accueilli ses travaux de son vivant, et leur validité aujourd’hui. / André Schaeffner (1895-1980), better known as ethnologist than for his musicological activity, in his works concerning classical music embraces a position against the kind of critique that claims to be “objective” or neutral towards the artwork. He makes a plea for a “critique of admiration” that takes sides and displays one’s preferences. His writings pay no heed to a teleological or systematic approach of the history of music. Instead, he puts the composer’s work in perspective, reconstructing its historical and aesthetic background. Many condemned this kind of approach as lacking any judgement criterion. Nevertheless, thanks to his study of the circumstances in which a composer’s works were created, Schaeffner was able to call into question common and supposedly true preconceptions and stereotypes. Based on a study of several documents – both published and unpublished texts, drafts, rich correspondence – this thesis shows how Schaeffner carried out this kind of critique, especially in his writings concerning two composers that he fervently admired: the deceased Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky, still alive at that time and with whom Schaeffner was acquainted; as well as how Schaeffner’s theories were received upon publication and what their validity is nowadays.

How is Stravinky still recognisable even if he “merely” transcribes someone else’s work and orchestrates almost without changing pitch and rhythm? What technical procedures enable him to add a certain haptic and physical feel to the sound? As Wolfgang Rihm once said, Stravinsky formed music – even that of others – with his big hands to suit it to his own image and thereby paving two ways: one historical and the other personal. Both of these lead to Venice. This essay concentrates on the analysis of Stravinsky\''s Two sacred songs from 1968. An accurate profile may be given to the results by comparing them with the orchestration (written for nearly the same instruments) which is realized in Gérard Grisey’s Wolf-Lieder from 1997. Works from the German-Austrian compositional tradition conflict both with Stravinsky’s and Grisey’s arrangements on account of a sensitivity to timbre that dates from an originally French tradition of orchestration. It will be shown that counterpoint can effectively become a neutralizing agent in this clash of cultures.

Stravinsky seldom explained the intended theme of his works; however, he chose to do so with his Symphony in Three Movements. Stravinsky describes the first movement as a reflection on war films documenting scorched-earth tactics in China. He also states that the third movement is a reflection on the newsreels of goose-stepping soldiers, depicting the plot of the war in its entirety. In his descriptions, Stravinsky left out the second movement of the work. However, the movement already had a life of its own. The second movement expands a theme Stravinsky originally wrote for the movie The Song of Bernadette. The author, Franz Werfel, asked Stravinsky to compose music for the film when the two discussed the work and its central ideas. Although it did not appear in the film, Stravinsky recycled the music for the Symphony in Three Movements. In my opinion, the ideas of hope depicted in Werfel's novel are used by Stravinsky to evoke ideas of the importance of faith in the fallen world. My analysis aims to show the musical means used by Stravinsky to allow the central ideas from The Song of Bernadette to pervade the entirety of the Symphony in Three Movements.

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Master of Music / Department of Music / Craig B. Parker / Igor Stravinsky and Aldous Huxley maintained a sincere and abiding friendship for nearly two decades while both men were living in Los Angeles, California. Huxley’s command of music literature and understanding of musical concepts promoted a vital exchange of ideas between the two men. By the time of their meeting in Hollywood, each man appreciated the importance of the other in his field of expertise, despite Huxley’s negative criticisms of Stravinsky’s music in the 1920s. This mutual respect led to collaborations between Stravinsky, Huxley, and the American conductor Robert Craft on a series of concert-lectures and recordings. Stravinsky esteemed his friend so highly that he was compelled to dedicate a composition that he had been writing at the time of Huxley’s death to the writer’s memory. This paper includes a chapter of biographical information on Aldous Huxley, a chapter detailing the friendship of Stravinsky and Huxley in chronological order, a chapter about Huxley’s criticisms of Stravinsky’s music, a chapter about Huxley’s concert collaborations with Stravinsky and Craft, and a chapter detailing the compositional history and techniques of Stravinsky’s Variations for Orchestra (in Memory of Aldous Huxley). The first appendix lists additional meetings between Stravinsky and Huxley, as detailed in the writings of Igor Stravinsky, Vera Stravinsky, and Robert Craft. The second appendix is a chronological list of all Huxley writings mentioning Stravinsky.

This thesis offers a theoretical investigation into concepts of beauty, the sculptured body and myths of Venus and Medusa, primarily through the works of Igor Mitoraj and Marc Quinn. These themes are transformed and inverted in the Looking-glass towards the trans-body, which is fragmented, sometimes monstrous, grotesque or ugly, but it is still complete. Resonating with Eros, it advocates a new trans-sexuality and establishes a concept of new desire , both of which question the legitimacy and limits of the concept of gender in relation to the body. This thesis proposes looking at the body beyond straightforward associations with a particular sex, incorporating approaches beyond art historical and art critical perspectives. Overall, the argument is informed by three particular concepts - paratopisms, paralogisms and parachronisms - drawn from the writings of Jean-François Lyotard. Jean Baudrillard s idea of the trans and swallowing the mirror provides another focus for the thesis. As such, this work is an attempt to go through to the other side of the mirror with respect to topos here, aesthetics and narratives; logos here, beauty and ugliness; and chronos in this research, the new desire. Through a detailed analysis of a number of case-studies I focus on the transformation of the trope of the classical into para-classical; the implosion of Venus into Medusa, beauty into ugliness, perfection into imperfection and ability into disability; and, finally, the metamorphosis of the sculptured body in the mirror. The figure of Venus is utilised in order to scrutinise the modifications and metamorphoses, both internal and external, of the body in relation to the fragment and the classical Greco-Roman ideal. The thesis aims to bring to the study of sculpture a deconstruction of the body through readings on gender, subjectivities and the gaze of the other. It focuses on the female body, represented by the figure of Venus, which is modified and appropriated according to patriarchal order, but also, as it relies on Hélène Cixous's Medusa laugh, it generates a new perspective in seeing the body as a hybrid; a metamorphosing construct, able to transform beyond and within corporeality. Viewing the body as an entity in a constant state of flux, shifting identities and gender, this study proposes this new concept - trans-body as a response to the current hyperreal simulated model of sexuality, and stimulates (and simulates) a change of focus in opticality towards illusions and trans-vesting myths.