With no evidence, I view it as a lighthearted comment by Stravinsky, although there is a grain of truth to it.
Actually, look at Stravinsky's output. More than a bit of it is him grafting his stylings on those of other composers.
I can point to a passage in the Rite of Spring that is a paraphrase of a passage in Debussy Nocturnes. It is far from unique.
He literally took works by who he thought was Pergolesi (actually, it was by another composer, but he thought it was Pergolesi), and rewrote them to create Pulcinella. He did things like this more than once.
Then again, so did other composers. Bach reorchestrated works by composers such as Vivaldi to create his own compositions, such as the Bach Concerto for Four Harpsichords (originally by Vivaldi).
In terms of inspiration, just for fun, listen to the John Williams Overture to Star Wars, then listen to the overture to King's Row by Korngold.
Anyway, I look forward to listening to all of this, and more, on Apple Classical. I just hope that it does not remain limited to the iPhone for long. I want the availability of the music, the improved data, and the lossless music sources.
Great post.
Completely agree, but that was the fun and the joy of it before intelectual property rights came along (just kidding, of course). After all,
parody in music is a legit, very respected procedure (or was) since centuries ago, particularly used in sacred music. . In other words, its perfectly fine, and allowed. Or it should be. Our modern society value originality way too much, more than the execution itself (the final product), which is crazy to me. Execution is everything. A great idea is nothing without a proper execution.
"I can point to a passage in the
Rite of Spring that is a paraphrase of a passage in Debussy
Nocturnes. It is far from unique."
Of course. Paraphrasis can be an art in itself, though.
"In terms of inspiration, just for fun, listen to the John Williams Overture to
Star Wars, then listen to the overture to
King's Row by Korngold."
It was more than inspiration. After Lucas (by Spielberg suggestion) ditched his original idea of using classical music in the film, a la 2001, and decided to employ Williams, he temp tracked the initial sequence of the film with Korngold score for Kings Row, and asked Williams to employ a similar romantic, operatic style.
The rest is history.
"I want the availability of the music, the improved data, and the lossless music sources."
The lossless sources are already available in the regular music app. Plenty of classical music in 24/48 or higher, that I´ve found.