Stravinsky’s visit to Russia in 1962 helped to dramatically change the situation for new music in the USSR. Paradoxically, Khrennikov, Iarustovskii, Kabalevskii, and other reactionaries in the Soviet Composers’ Union used Stravinsky’s visit to draw a veil over their own previous activities and to give themselves an underserved “aura.” Khrennikov, who strongly criticized Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky, and who made life almost impossible for both Prokofiev and Shostakovich in the 1940s and 1950s, later claimed to love their music and made untrue statements about his friendship with all of them. Clearly, Stravinsky understood the situation well, and treated each of Khrennikov’s advances with due caution. His reaction provides a salutary example for researchers today, especially those intent on rewriting history through excessively literal interpretations of archival materials without proper consideration of their context
