Proust, Joyce, Stravinsky

Composers Datebook

Synopsis

Marcel Proust, James Joyce and Pablo Picasso walk into a bar. No, it’s not the start of some high-brow joke; that really happened in Paris on today’s date in 1922.

Well, not exactly: it was a hotel, not a bar, but certainly drinks were served when Sydney and Violet Schiff, two wealthy British patrons of the arts staying at the Hotel Majestic arranged what was called “soirée of the century.” The premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s opera-ballet Renard had just taken place across town, and the Schiffs decided to throw a late-night party in Stravinsky’s honor, and, to make things more interesting, invited Picasso, Joyce and Proust.

While other guests were in full evening dress, Picasso arrived with a traditional Catalan sash wrapped around his forehead. Joyce arrived late, underdressed, and already tipsy. Proust arrived even later — at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., wearing a big fur coat and with a face “pale as the afternoon moon,” as Stravinsky later recalled.

So what did they all have to say to each other? Not much, according to all accounts. After all, it was a party, not a university seminar — or a bar joke, so there was punch, but no punch line.

Music Played in Today's Program

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Renard; Orchestre Du Domaine Musical; Pierre Boulez, conductor; Decca 481151