A star-spangled bummer for Stravinsky? Even if we haven' t traveled to exotic lands with strange customs, taboos and fetishes, we've all heard cautionary tales of how ignorance of local laws and customs can lead to mishap.
On this day set aside for honoring a prominent Western symbol of
liberation and union, we offer the rueful tale of Igor Stravinsky, composer,
plying his trade in an exotic land of strange customs, taboos and fetishes
called "Massachusetts."
In the winter of 1944, Stravinsky led a concert of his music with the
Boston Symphony. He included what he called "a vehicle through which I might
express my gratitude at becoming an American citizen . . . I chose to harmonize
and orchestrate the beautiful sacred anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner.'"
Though Boston audiences might not have been able to articulate that
Stravinsky had introduced an unorthodox modulation into the subdominant in the
cadence, they knew messing with the National Anthem when they heard it. And that was a crime. Literally. Chapter 264, Section 9, of Massachusetts's law forbad
rearrangements of "The Star Spangled Banner." There were complaints. The Boston
Police Commissioner arrived with backup for the next performance, prepared to
slap the evil genius with a $100 fine. But the "perp" was tipped off, the new
arrangement cancelled, and, as Musical America reported, "the police refrained
from taking action, and quiet was restored to the banks of the Charles."Courtesy of Composer's Datebook
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