The other day a book arrived in the mail: When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky (Two Artists, The Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot), by Lauren Stringer. It’s an oversize, 35-page children’s book about the commotion following the first performance of The Rite of Spring. The 100th anniversary of the first performance is on May 29.
I say it’s a children’s book, although for what age isn’t entirely clear. Here and there the level of diction is a little odd. “When Stravinsky composed music all by himself,” writes Stringer, “his piano trilled an orchestra with violins and flutes, trumpets, and tubas ….” Trilled an orchestra? As in producing a quavering sound? The grammar bells went off in my head, and may need some explanation to a child.
But little matter, the book is visually brilliant; each illustration is inspired by one or other of the great painters, movements, and themes of the period. Moreover, Stringer wisely includes a note from the author at the end of the story with more background about the two artists and The Rite of Spring..
The specific merits of the book aside, its real value is as a setting for an adult to talk about some of the abstractions not mentioned. The author leaves us with “…something very different and new began this remarkable night.” But for a child there’s more to say — for example, when you create something it may not be well received, but that doesn’t mean it was bad or in some way, unworthy. And collaboration is a good thing, and sometimes two people can work together, or be together, and achieve something that they couldn’t have done just by themselves. (Harcourt Children’s Books; $16.99)