Re “Just How Russian Was Stravinsky?” by Richard Taruskin [April 18]: Mr. Taruskin is probably correct when he writes that, through the use of the octatonic scale in all three of Stravinsky’s ...
The diminished scale—known in theory circles as a symmetrical, octatonic series composed of alternating whole‑step and half‑step intervals—has earned its reputation as one of the most versatile tools ...