Boris Asafiev as a Stravinsky scholar

Abstract

Boris Asafiev, pen name Igor Glebov, was a Russian musicologist, composer, music critic, pedagogue, public figure, publicist; author of works devoted to the music of Igor Stravinsky. The article examines A Book about Stravinsky (1929), one of the earliest monographs on the composer in any language and the first one in Russian. It is characterized as an outstanding musicological study of Stravinsky’s works that had appeared by that time, that is, from the early period to the works completed in 1927 (Oedipus rex, Apollon musagète and The Fairy’s Kiss).

Keywords

• boris asafiev/igor glebov
• igor stravinsky’s oeuvre
• russian style
• composer’s evaluation