Talking with Stravinsky

The last time I saw Stravinsky, in Oxford after a memorable performance of the Symphony of Psalms, I went backstage, and he happened to take my arm (because no one else was available!) so that he could descend the stairs to the stage door where hundreds of admirers awaited him. With his basso-profundo, thickly Russian-accented English, he said: "Up to heaven, down to hell." Again, tongue-in-cheek, he revealed a childlike but profound truth.
Time passed, and I moved away from the influence and the colossal impact that Stravinsky had on me. It is only recently, more than 40 years on, that I have re-immersed myself in his work, but in a totally different and more contemplative way.
I write this tribute now to Stravinsky, surrounded by metaphysical axioms and criteria according to all religious traditions, and my estimation of his greatness is determined entirely by them. I want to try to understand

Now find out who, in my header photo, is Walking with Stravinsky
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Comments
Looks like Tuesday or Wednesday next week as I have some other articles to upload in the meantime - can you wait until then?
The problem, for me, is that Tavener is a classic case of someone whose attitude speaks so loudly that it is difficult to hear what he is actually saying.
Which is a pity, because he certainly has some things worth saying in his music.