Born: June 17, 1882; Lomonosov,
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: April 6, 1971; New York City,
New York, USA
Igor Stravinsky was a Russian
composer, pianist and conductor who was born on June 17, 1882 and died on April
6, 1971. Stravinsky's career as a composer,
considered as one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th
century, is known for its diversity of styles.
Stravinsky's house in Ustilug, now a museum
He first achieved international
fame with three ballets, which were commissioned by Serge Diaghilev, who led
the Ballets Russes, and first performed in Paris by the Ballets Russes, ‘The
Firebird (1910)’, ‘Petrushka (1911)’, and ‘The Rite of Spring (1913)’. In
particular, The Rite of Spring, considered one of the revolutionary works which
has broken the boundaries of traditional musical frame, has been transformed by
a lot of subsequent composers and made a great contribution to Stravinsky’s continued
reputation.
Sergei Diaghilev
The first period in the process of changing Stravinsky's musical
styles was the “Russian period (c. 1907–1919)”. The Russian period, also called
"Primitive period", except for a very few surviving earlier works,
began with works made under the guidance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1905
until 1908 when Rimsky-Korsakov died.
Group of supporters and members of the Ballets Russes (1911)
Following the ‘Russian period’,
which continued with works such as Renard, L'Histoire du soldat, and Les Noces,
Stravinsky changed his music style to ‘neoclassicism’ in the 1920s. The ‘Neoclassical
period (c. 1920–1954)' was a period when Stravinsky not only returned to the
music of the Classical period but also explored the themes from the ancient
Classical world, such as Greek mythology. Apollon musagète (1928), Perséphone
(1933) and Orpheus (1947) are good examples for the period.
Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov (seated together on the left) (1908)
The works of this
period also showed a tendency to use traditional musical styles such as concerto
grosso, fugue, and symphony, and used early styles, especially those of the
18th century. Important works in this period
include the Octet (1923), the Concerto for Piano and Winds (1924), the Serenade
in A (1925), and Symphony of Psalms (1930).
Portrait of Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso
In the 1950s, Stravinsky turned to
the ‘Serial period (1954–1968)’, which began to use serial compositional
techniques such as dodecaphony, the twelve-tone technique originally devised by
Arnold Schoenberg. However, in the early stages of this period, Stravinsky
experimented with non-twelve-tone serial techniques in small-scale vocal and
chamber works such as the Cantata (1952), the Septet (1953) and Three Songs
from Shakespeare (1953).
Stravinsky's grave, San Michele Island
Thank you.
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