Robert Craft

Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor[1] and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books.

For the American businessman, see Robert Kraft. For other people, see Robert Kraft (disambiguation).

Robert Craft (right) with his wife at their home in Florida, circa early 1990s.

Life

Craft was born in Kingston, New York to Raymond and Arpha Craft and studied music at the Juilliard School. He became particularly interested in early music, such as that of Claudio Monteverdi, Carlo Gesualdo, and Heinrich Schütz, and in contemporary music by the composers of the Second Viennese School and others.

Robert Craft (left) with Kai Maasalo and Igor Stravinsky (right) on their visit to Helsinki in 1961.

Craft met Stravinsky in 1948, and from then until the composer's death in 1971, Craft continued to work alongside Stravinsky in a variety of roles. A relationship that started out with Craft in a rather modest role eventually evolved into a full artistic partnership. Craft compiled the libretti for Stravinsky's The Flood and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer, and lived with Igor and Vera Stravinsky in Hollywood and later in New York City. Craft remained close to the composer's widow until her death in 1982.

After Stravinsky's death, Craft continued to concertize and to write. His 2002 autobiography, An Improbable Life, details his life before, during, and after his friendship with Stravinsky. The memoir elaborates on the impact that Igor Stravinsky had on his life.

Shortly after Stravinsky's death, Craft married the composer's longtime nurse, Rita Christiansen, though the marriage did not endure. His survivors include a son from that marriage, Alexander; a sister, Phyllis Crawford; his second wife, the former Alva Celauro Minoff, a singer and actress; two stepchildren, Edward Minoff and Melissa Minoff; and four grandchildren.

Craft died on November 10, 2015, at his home in Gulf Stream, Florida.[2][3]

Writing

Craft collaborated with Stravinsky on a series of books that covered various musical and non-musical subjects: Conversations with Igor Stravinsky (1959); Memories and Commentaries (1960); Expositions and Developments (1962); Dialogues and a Diary (1963); Themes and Episodes (1967); Retrospectives and Conclusions (1969). They include transcribed conversations between the two men, interviews culled from various published sources, essays, diary entries, and the like, all with the professed aim of presenting Stravinsky's views on music and culture.

Conducting

Craft was a conductor with most of the major orchestras in the United States (New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, and Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra), as well as international engagements in Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. He was the first American to conduct Alban Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu, and Hindemith's Cardillac. Craft also led the world premieres of Stravinsky's later, dodecaphonic works: Vom Himmel hoch, Agon, The Flood, Abraham and Isaac, Variations, Introitus, and Requiem Canticles.

He was a two-time recipient of the Grand Prix du Disque, as well as the Edison Prize for his recordings of music by Varèse and Stravinsky. His recordings of the music of Stravinsky with the Orchestra of St. Luke's were originally available on eleven now out-of-print releases from MusicMasters and seven volumes from Koch. Since early 2005, these recordings have been gradually re-released by Naxos Records .

Legacy

Craft remained in a vanguard position in relation to 20th-century art music throughout his life as a conductor and musicologist. Besides working closely with one of the greats from the 20th century, Craft produced volumes of academic and personal writings on Stravinsky and on many other musicians and composers.

In 2002, Robert Craft was awarded the International Prix du Disque at the Cannes Music Festival.

Publications

• Prejudices in Disguise (New York, 1974)
• Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents (with Vera Stravinsky; New York, 1978)
• Current Convictions: Views and Reviews (New York, 1977)
• Present Perspectives (New York, 1984)
• Stravinsky: Glimpses of a Life (New York, 1992)
• Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship (Nashville, 1994)
• Down a Path of Wonder (Norfolk, UK, 2006)

Craft also translated and edited Stravinsky, Selected Correspondence (3 vols., New York, 1982, 1984, 1985).

References

1. Schiff, David (13 March 2005). "Music; Still Turning Provocations Into Classics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
2. "Robert Lawson Craft – Obituary", Sun-Sentinel, November 13, 2015
3. "Robert Craft, Stravinsky Adviser and Steward, Dies at 92" by Margalit Fox, The New York Times 14 November 2015

Literature

• Craft, Robert. 2002. An Improbable Life: Memoirs. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 0-8265-1381-6.
• Craft, Robert. 2013. Stravinsky: Discoveries and Memories. Naxos Books. ISBN 978-1-843797-53-1

External links

• Contributions, The New York Review of Books
• An Improbable Life