Robert Craft
Biography
Over a long career Robert Craft made his mark as a uniquely qualified orchestral conductor and as a friend, personal assistant, and amanuensis to Igor Stravinsky; after the great composer’s death in 1971, Craft acquired a distinguished reputation as a writer as well. As a conductor, he was a wide-ranging specialist, with his conducting efforts directed not to projecting a personal stamp but to assuring that the music be more widely known, correctly performed, and intelligently understood.
Current album
Robert Craft - The Complete Columbia Album Collection
Artists Robert CraftRelease Date: 05/19/2023
Robert Craft (1923 - 2015) became known primarily as Igor Stravinsky's assistant and music secretary. But he also championed the music of Alban Berg, Anton Webern, and Arnold Schoenberg early on as an author and especially as a conductor, as evidenced by the 44 CDs of recordings Craft made for Columbia from the early 1950s to the early 1960s. They are still revealing, fascinating pioneering works - for the Second Viennese School (including complete recordings of Webern's and Schoenberg's works for which Craft was responsible), for Stravinsky, but also for Gesualdo, Monteverdi, Schütz, Varèse and Boulez. Included - along with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, are renowned soloists, including future mezzo legend Marilyn Horne. This edition, with many recordings appearing on CD for the first time, was lavishly mastered and produced in collaboration with the Stravinsky Foundation.
