Aesthetics of Objectivism in Igor Stravinsky's Neoclassical Works

摘要

This thesis examines Stravinsky’s aesthetics of objectivism, as described in hisown book and displayed in three different genres from his neoclassical period:Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). Myresearch has significance, in that I combine aesthetics and musical analysis in examiningStravinsky’s objectivism. Drawing on Stravinsky’s book, Poetics of Music in the Form ofSix Lessons, I define his objectivism as the structural organization of musical materials,the denial of expression of subjective emotion, the importance of the composer’sinvention, and the concept of limitation.Stravinsky’s objectivism appears in various ways in the different genres. Theinstrumental piece Symphonies of Wind Instruments presents the lack of linear continuityand development. The melodrama Perséphone represents his objectivism through hisrearrangement of French text, and the ballet Orpheus shows his restrained expression inreduced orchestration, quiet dynamics, and cool tone colors.