I'm pleased to continue presenting interviews by Mary Rousculp Hoffman which she recorded during her years as Program Director of WOSU Classical 101.
Mary overlooked no one. Any marquee name that came to perform in the Ohio Theater, or at OSU met and talked with Mary. We've already heard her interviews with Vladimir Horowitz, Thomas Schippers and Maria Callas. See elsewhere on this blog, they're all here.
I'm pleased to offer Mary's encounter with Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). This was recorded at the Sheraton Hotel, Columbus on November 27, 1966. Also present were Rosemary and David Hite, from Capital University and the Columbus Journal Citizen, and James Lekrone of WTVN. The star, as always, is Mary.
Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Stravinsky. These are the gigantic composers. Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Verdi and Mahler are great composers, but Stravinsky belongs with the giants. A giant changes the rules. A giant is not aware there are rules. A giant makes the rules his own.
Composer of The Rite of Spring, Petrouchka, The Firebird, The Rake's Progress, Symphony of Psalms, Stravinsky came to Columbus in 1966 to conduct the Columbus Symphony and Chorus in a program of his own music. You can tell by listening to this brief excerpt, that Stravinsky was more than pleased to sit and chat with a pretty woman.
Yes, the maestro must have been delighted. Mary got one hour of his time. Here's a sample from part one. Listen, enjoy, and stay tuned.
