Chapter 14 - Assuming Co-authorship: Stravinsky and His ‘Ghostwriters’

Summary

Discussion of Stravinsky’s so-called ghostwriters usually focuses on Chroniques de ma vie (1935) and Poétique musicale (1939) – two books, originally written and published in French, which the composer produced during the interwar period.¹ This is because Stravinsky is presented as the sole author of both volumes even though, strictly speaking, he wrote neither. ‘Ghostwriter’ has become a commonplace to describe those who collaborated with Stravinsky, but the term’s connotations of imposture make it unsuited for describing the composer’s complex relationship with the act of writing, his routine for preparing texts and the workings of what might be called his ‘idea mill’. Stravinsky himself only rarely, and somewhat reluctantly, admitted the important role played by the many co-authors involved in drafting his writings. In turn, his collaborators seem to have accepted the arrangement without hesitation, often as a form of devotion to the composer.