Two Diaries of 1962: Robert Сraft – Xenia Stravinsky Memorial Literature as a Historiographical Source of Igor Stravinsky’s Portrait

Abstract

Igor Stravinsky has a unique status as a cosmopolitan composer. He was called ‘Russian European’, ‘the exile to an alien culture’, ‘the prodigal son of Russian art’. However, his national self-identification has always remained in question. Discourse about his belonging to one of the other nations appeared in the Russian field only after his ‘return’ to the USSR in 1962 for 21 days. This research is based on the diaries who accompanied Stravinsky during his tour in USSR: Robert Craft (American Conductor and Stravinsky’s secretary) and Xenia Stravinsky (Stravinsky’s niece). Comparing the two diaries provides an exciting opportunity to discover a new vision of Stravinsky’s portrait from two opposite points of view, Soviet and American.