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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Stravinsky Classics To Be Performed

Travis Rivers Correspondent

Musicians crowd around great composers such as Igor Stravinsky - even if those musicians ordinarily cluster in different universities, colleges and music schools. Gonzaga University’s Robert Spittal has assembled a group of instrumentalists from the Spokane Symphony and neighboring colleges and schools to perform three works that are landmarks in Igor Stravinsky’s neo-classic period.

Stravinsky’s “Histoire du Soldat,” Octet and “Suite Italienne” will be performed tonight at Russell Theater on the Gonzaga campus. Performers will include violinist Tracy Gibson Dunlop, clarinettist Virginia Jones, flutist Bruce Bodden, bassoonists Lynne Feller and Glenn West, trumpeters Christopher Cook and William Berry, trombonists David Matern and Cameron Dunlop, bassist Todd Larsen and percussionist Paul Raymond.

Spittal, Gonzaga’s director of bands, will lead the Stravinsky Chamber Players ensemble of musicians from Gonzaga, Eastern Washington University, Whitworth College, The Holy Names Music Center and the Spokane Symphony in Stanvinsky’s “Histoire du Soldat.” The ensemble will also perform Stravinsky’s Octet.

Cellist Kevin Hekmatpanah and pianist Kendall Feeney will play “Suite Italienne” for cello and piano arranged by the composer from his ballet “Pulcinella.” Most musicians view “Histoire du Soldat” and the Octet as the two pivotal works in Stravinsky’s change of styles.

Stravinsky based “Histoire” on a Russian folktale which relates the story of a soldier and his willingness to exchange his soul (in the form of his battered but beloved violin) to the Devil for worldly riches, popularity and love. Like the story of Faust’s similar trade, the soldier wins, but only temporarily. Actress Sara Edlin-Marlowe from Gonzaga’s theater faculty will narrate the tale.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “STRAVINSKY!” Location and time: Gonzaga University’s Russell Theater, 8 tonight Tickets: $10

This sidebar appeared with the story: “STRAVINSKY!” Location and time: Gonzaga University’s Russell Theater, 8 tonight Tickets: $10