Being ushered into the presence of the 5’ 2” Igor Stravinsky could be an extremely daunting experience for anyone.
Although eighty-four years old and somehow being kept alive by blood transfusions, when I met him, he had lost none of his prodigious energy and wicked sense of humour. Some years later, after Stravinsky had died, his American scribe Robert Craft and his second wife Vera asked me to make a documentary profile to mark the centenary of Stravinsky’s birth in St Petersburg in 1882. Amongst many others, we managed to reach Stravinsky’s three surviving children, and even the last two dancers alive who had performed in the notorious première of ‘The Rite of Spring’. Tony Palmer
UK 1982 Tony Palmer 165m
Sun 10 May 12:00
Tickets £8
