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Robert Craft

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Robert Craft was born in 1923 in Kingston in the state of New York and died in 2015 in Florida at the age of 92. He was a conductor and writer and studied at the Juilliard School. He was captivated early on by early music by Monteverdi, Gesualdo and Schütz and by the modern composers of the Second Viennese School.

Music and breakthrough

His life changed in 1948, when he met Igor Stravinsky. Until the composer's death in 1971 he worked with him, first as an assistant, later as an artistic partner. He lived with Igor and Vera Stravinsky in Hollywood and later in New York. Together they produced a series of books, including Conversations with Igor Stravinsky in 1959, full of conversations, essays and diary fragments. Craft also conducted the world premieres of Stravinsky's late works in twelve-tone technique, such as Agon, The Flood and Requiem Canticles.

Influence

As a conductor Craft led the major American orchestras and performed in Europe, Russia, Japan and on other continents. He was the first American to conduct Alban Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu. In the mid-1950s he recorded the complete works of Anton Webern. His recordings of Stravinsky with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and his recordings of Varèse earned him, among other honours, the Grand Prix du Disque and the Edison Prize. In 2002 his autobiography An Improbable Life appeared.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording of Stravinsky's Agon conducted by Craft. Notice the clear, bare sounds of the orchestra and the rhythms that keep shifting.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists