Editing Igor Stravinsky (section)

==== Turn towards serialism ====
[[File:William Hogarth 021.jpg|alt=Warm-colored painting of a man talking with a woman while he is measured for new clothes|upright=1.2|thumb|The first painting in the series ''[[A Rake's Progress|The Rake's Progress]]'', upon which Stravinsky based his [[The Rake's Progress|opera of the same name]]]]
As Stravinsky became more familiar with English, he developed the idea to write an English-language opera based on a series of paintings by 18th-century artist [[William Hogarth]] titled ''[[A Rake's Progress|The Rake's Progress]]''.{{Sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|pp=230–231}} The composer joined Auden to write the libretto in November 1947; American writer [[Chester Kallman]] was later brought in to assist Auden.{{Sfn|Stravinsky|Craft|1960|p=156}}{{Sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|p=232}} Stravinsky finished the [[The Rake's Progress|opera of the same name]] in 1951, and despite its widespread performances and success,{{Sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|p=238}} the composer was dismayed to find that his newer music did not captivate young composers.{{Sfn|Walsh|2001|loc=9. The proto-serial works, 1951–9}} Craft had introduced Stravinsky to the [[serial music]] of the [[Second Viennese School]] shortly after ''The Rake's Progress'' premiered, and the opera's composer began studying and listening to the music of [[Anton Webern]] and [[Arnold Schoenberg]].{{Sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|p=241}}{{Sfn|White|1979|p=133}}

During the 1950s, Stravinsky continued touring extensively across the world, occasionally returning to Los Angeles to compose.{{Sfn|Boucourechliev|1987|p=247}} In 1953, he agreed to compose a new opera with a libretto by Dylan Thomas, but development on the project came to a sudden end following Thomas's death in November of that year. Stravinsky completed ''In Memoriam Dylan Thomas'', his first work fully based on the serial [[twelve-tone technique]], the following year.{{Sfn|Walsh|2001|loc=9. The proto-serial works, 1951–9}}{{sfn|Straus|2001|p=4}} The 1956 cantata ''{{Lang|la|[[Canticum Sacrum]]}}'' premiered at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Venice, inspiring {{Lang|de|[[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]|italic=no}} to commission the musical setting {{Lang|la|[[Threni (Stravinsky)|Threni]]}} in 1957.{{sfn|White|1979|pp=136–137, 504}} With the Balanchine ballet ''[[Agon (ballet)|Agon]]'', Stravinsky fused neoclassical themes with the twelve-tone technique, and ''{{Lang|la|Threni}}'' showed his full shift towards use of [[tone row]]s.{{Sfn|Walsh|2001|loc=9. The proto-serial works, 1951–9}} In 1959, Craft interviewed Stravinsky for an article titled ''Answers to 35 Questions'', in which the composer sought to correct myths surrounding him and discuss his relationships with other artists. The article was later expanded into a book, and over the next four years, three more interview-style books were published.{{Efn|Craft's heavy editing on these volumes, combined with Stravinsky's weak memory of early-life events, made the books unreliable and factually inaccurate.{{Sfn|Walsh|2001|loc=9. The proto-serial works, 1951–9}}}}{{sfn|White|1979|pp=138–139}}

Continued international tours brought Stravinsky to [[Washington, D.C.]] in January 1962, where he attended a dinner at the [[White House]] with then-President [[John F. Kennedy]] in honor of the composer's 80th birthday. Although it was largely an [[Anti-Sovietism|anti-Soviet]] political stunt, Stravinsky remembered the event fondly, composing the ''Elegy for J.F.K.'' after the president's [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination a year later]].{{Sfn|Lengel|2017}}{{Sfn|Walsh|2006|pp=450–451}} In September 1962, he returned to Russia for the first time since 1914, accepting an invitation from the [[Union of Soviet Composers]] to conduct six performances in [[Moscow]] and [[Leningrad]].{{sfn|White|1979|pp=146–148}} After the success of ''The Firebird'' and ''The Rite of Spring'' in the 1910s, Stravinsky's music was respected and frequently performed in the Soviet Union, influencing young Soviet composers at the time like [[Dmitri Shostakovich]].{{sfn|Savenko|2013|pp=257–258}} However, after [[Stalin]] began consolidating power in the early 1930s, Stravinsky's music nearly vanished and was formally banned in 1948.{{sfn|Savenko|2013|p=259}} A new interest in his works was born during the [[Khrushchev Thaw]], partly due to the composer's 1962 visit.{{sfn|Savenko|2013|p=260}} During his three-week visit he met with Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and several leading Soviet composers, including Shostakovich and [[Aram Khachaturian]].{{sfn|White|1979|pp=146–148}}{{Sfn|Walsh|2006|pp=466, 471}} Stravinsky did not return to Los Angeles until December 1962 after eight months of almost continual traveling.{{sfn|Walsh|2006|p=476}}