There’s a certain level of humor I have to have when writing this post, since it’s being written well after I have conducted the last bit of research for this class. I think for the sake of getting past the silly gags, I’ll just pretend that I’m currently doing this research. Ahem…
When conducting my research for my third paper, I truly wanted to follow a very interesting musicological rabbit hole! I’m researching Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (specifically the 1920 second premier), and amidst the several interesting angles one could take when analyzing this specific production, I found myself following the queer lens!
In the midst of my research, I found a few sources that had disclosed some rather exciting “information!” That Stravinsky himself decided to have some “queer endeavors” during the period in which he wrote the score for Rite of Spring! This was so exciting! There was an endless amount of content I could discuss with this in mind; out of sync accents, cluster chords, adverse audience reactions, lines of absolute melodic beauty amidst a truly chaotic score, the list went on! There was just so much to delve into, and I was very excited to pursue this research avenue – though there was unfortunately a catch that I only mildly saw coming.
Igor Stravinsky’s personal diaries and memoirs were catered to by his personal assistant; with an emphasis on the words “catered to”, due to the nearly-proven suspicions that he had been editing Stravinsky’s diaries. If that’s not a nail in the coffin, then the fact that this thesis (the notion that Stravinsky was experimenting with his sexuality at the time of writing Rite of Spring) has already been staunchly disproven by several prominent musicologists.
Bummer.
I did eventually find a new thesis to pursue, and eventually a new exciting topic to discuss, but this brief tale of caution goes to show that not every rainbow (get it? Rainbows! ‘Cause… nevermind) leads precisely to a pot of gold, at least in terms of researching composers.