Dumbarton Who ?
Robert and Mildred Bliss purchased their circa-1801 Georgetown home in 1920 and extensively remodeled it . Dumbarton Oaks was to be a center of arts and culture . Amongst their many additions the Blisses added the music room where Stravinsky ’ s friend Nadia Boulanger conducted the concerto ’ s debut in 1938 .
According to Walsh ’ s history , The Second Exile , a brief cable from Mildred Bliss to the composer stating that “ Performance concerto Dumbarton Oaks was worthy of the work ” caused Stravinsky much confusion . Had his friend Nadia been taken ill ? Who was this Dumbarton Oaks who performed his concerto ?
“ Mildred had unilaterally decided that Concerto in E-flat was too anonymous a title for a work of hers ,” Walsh explains , “ so what more natural than to give it the name of the house in whose gracious and lofty music room it was first performed ?”
The piece , more commonly known by the name “ Dumbarton Oaks ,” is the Stravinsky piece Goodwin has conducted most often in his own career .
“ I love its intricacy and its outward effervescent nature mixed with its innerlooking darker moments ,” he explains .
The concerto was commissioned by the cultural doyenne Mildred Bliss in 1937 to commemorate the 30 th anniversary of her wedding to diplomat Robert Woods Bliss . At the time , the Blisses lived at Dumbarton Oaks , their beautiful estate in Washington , D . C .’ s Georgetown neighborhood , and some believe the home ’ s renowned gardens inspired Stravinsky ’ s composition ( though he was in Switzerland when he first sketched the piece ). According to Stephen Walsh ’ s biography Stravinsky , The Second Exile : France and America 1934 – 1971 , the Blisses requested a short piece of chamber music in the style of Bach ’ s Brandenburg Concertos . They paid Stravinsky $ 2,500 .
Goodwin says the influence of Bach is apparent and he has even performed
“ When Stravinsky goes to America , he is a celebrity responding to commissions and absorbing all the influences available to him while still forging his own original voice ”
Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss in their music room ( where the Dumbarton Oaks Concerto was first performed ).
“ Dumbarton Oaks ” with part of the Brandenburg Concerto interspersed with the Stravinsky . “ The challenge ,” he says , “ is to find the many moods of the piece within a strict rhythmic structure .”
Stravinsky ’ s early works —“ The Rite of Spring ” and “ The Firebird ”— may be household names , but his long and prolific career in America was no less inspired . And while his pieces had many influences , such as the Concerto in E-flat taking inspiration from Bach ’ s Baroque world , the resulting compositions are pure Stravinsky . It is this that marks Stravinsky ’ s genius and that has secured his place in the cannon .
“ His individual voice is so strong that it shines through every one of his compositions whatever the style ,” says Goodwin . “ His compositions , though at times intense and emotional , generally involve an element of detachment from him . This , in turn , leaves room for the listener to enter the music on their terms with their mood rather than having to subscribe to a single dominating romantic ethic .”
Dumbarton Oaks Archives , Washington , D . C .
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