Life
Craft was born in Kingston, New York and studied music at the Juilliard School. He became particularly interested in early music and the music of Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, and in contemporary music by the composers of the Second Viennese School and others.
Craft met Stravinsky in 1948, and from then until the composer's death in 1971, Craft continued to work alongside Stravinsky in a variety of roles. A relationship that started as out with Craft in a rather modest role eventually evolved into a full artistic partnership. Craft compiled the libretti for Stravinsky's The Flood and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer, and lived with the Stravinsky family in California and later in New York. Craft continued to remain close to the composer's widow Vera until her death in 1982.
After Stravinsky's death, Craft continued to concertize and to write. His 2002 book, An Improbable Life, details his life before, during, and after his friendship with Stravinsky. The memoir elaborates on the impact that Igor Stravinsky had on his life.
Read more about this topic: Robert Craft
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“You realize the futility of worry. You learn to hate the small and the little. Life is a pie which you cut in large slices, not grudgingly, not sparingly. You know your limitations and proceed to eliminate them; your abilities, and proceed to develop them. You are free.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“Taking food alone tends to make one hard and coarse. Those accustomed to it must lead a Spartan life if they are not to go downhill. Hermits have observed, if for only this reason, a frugal diet. For it is only in company that eating is done justice; food must be divided and distributed if it is to be well received.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“My prime of youth is but a frost of cares,
My feast of joy is but a dish of pain,
My crop of corn is but a field of tares,
And all my good is but vain hope of gain:
The day is past, and yet I saw no sun,
And now I live, and now my life is done.”
—Chidiock Tichborne (1558–1586)